Staff Reports
HANCOCK COUNTY — The 2019-20 school year, unlike any other due to the pandemic, is a wrap. Now, educators are making plans for the new school year rapidly approaching.
However, due to so much uncertainty with COVID-19 and fears over a surge in infections, district officials are trying to prepare for anything. That includes welcoming students back to classrooms with a long list of restrictions, but it also includes giving families options for virtual learning.
Administrators have been told Gov. Eric Holcomb will offer guidance about the 2020-21 school year sometime in July.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
County districts are in various stages of preparation. Southern Hancock schools has already announced plans to offer a virtual program in the fall as an alternative to attending classes in person. Greenfield-Central also intends to have a virtual option for families, Superintendent Harold Olin said in a recent video. Mt. Vernon also envisions a virtual-learning component, even as a task force is working on ways to keep students and staff safe in its buildings. Eastern Hancock also is devising a sanitation strategy and is awaiting more guidance from the state.
The state has released a broad set of re-entry guidelines, called Indiana’s Considerations for Learning and Safe Schools, or IN-CLASS, that offers guidance on everything from reviewing liability insurance coverage to proper social distancing. In general, the guidelines envision a greatly altered landscape in the schools.
At Greenfield-Central, administrators already are consulting with dozens of other state school leaders and state health officials in making their plans.
“We are tirelessly working to create a plan that is right for Greenfield-Central,” Olin said in the video.
For families who elect to go back to school in person, there will be changes, Olin said, like students and staff wearing masks and everyone washing their hands more. There is also expected to be much less movement of students within the schools. The In-CLASS guidelines list three pages of social distancing strategies, including spacing desks farther apart and even holding some classes outdoors when possible.
The new virtual learning program in the Southern Hancock school district will be designed for students whose parents may not feel comfortable sending children back to classes.
“Educational options are critical during this pandemic,” SH community relations director Wes Anderson said.
Officials decided they needed to give families an option for their children’s education and noted some families may have at-risk children or other family members who can’t come to school for fear of being infected.
“Others may not feel comfortable sending their children back to school,” Anderson said.
Like Mt. Vernon, Southern Hancock has also created a task force to facilitate the reopening of schools. The task force is composed of teachers, staff members, administrators, parents and community members.
The new e-learning program there will offer a full-time online curriculum and would give students the option to attend school part time and complete e-learning part time. District officials plan to offer more details as the program is created over the summer. In the meantime, they’re seeking input via a survey sent to families about how e-learning went during the spring semester.
Southern Hancock leaders have discussed scenarios in which, for example, students would stay in their home rooms for the day with teachers being the only ones walking the halls except for gym, lunch and trips to the library.
“While Aug. 3 (the first day of school) is a long way off and many things will change between now and then, our task force will continue to form plans based on the best information we have at the time,” Superintendent Lisa Lantrip said in a message to parents.
Maria Bond, director of community relations for Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation, told the Daily Reporter in an email the corporation has developed a Back-to-School Task Force charged with providing the safest and healthiest environment for students and staff.
The group of about 25 comes from a variety of roles and perspectives throughout the school district. Bond added the task force will develop plans ranging from how schools are disinfected to modifying student schedules to reduce traffic in buildings.
The school corporation is also preparing for the likelihood that some parents may not be able to send their children to school, Bond said. In those instances, e-learning will be provided as an option.
“Our teachers have done an amazing job with e-learning thus far, but we recognize that additional prolonged e-learning may be necessary in the future,” Bond said in her email. “We have already begun to provide significant professional development for all of our teachers to increase their capacity to provide instruction virtually.”
Mt. Vernon will also provide teachers with additional time over the summer to work individually or in teams to further develop their courses to be delivered through a Learning Management System that will be used to support student learning in a home setting, Bond said.
Dave Pfaff, superintendent of Eastern Hancock Community School Corporation, said EH administrations have not yet made any decisions on what the beginning of the 2020-21 school year might look like. Currently, they’re gathering information on a variety of options and waiting for more input from local and state authorities.
“We’re still not sure what the governor and the health department and the department of education will allow,” Pfaff said.
In the meantime, the corporation is preparing to have adequate sanitizing measures in place and personal protective equipment available whenever buildings do reopen.
Pfaff said he understands families may want immediate information, but that it takes time to find the best way for the schools to move forward.
Pfaff said the corporation will be surveying staff and parents about their thoughts on returning to school in the fall and concerns about COVID-19.
Kristy Deer, Mitchell Kirk and Jessica Karins of the Daily Reporter staff contributed to this story.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
First days of school:
Eastern Hancock: Aug. 3
Greenfield-Central: July 30
Mt. Vernon: July 29
Southern Hancock: Aug. 3
[sc:pullout-text-end]
