Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy confronts COVID-19 head on as it begins new year

Hybrid schedules and advanced cleaning measures are key to the reopening of the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, located in the Highland Park neighborhood.

The school closed its doors on March 12 because of COVID-19. There were no cases reported among students, staff or faculty then. The first day of class for the sixth to 12th grade school this academic year was Aug. 6, and classes were completely virtual until Friday.

Since Monday, the all-girls public charter school has offered students the choice of participating either full time virtually or as hybrid learners, going into the school two days a week and participating in online learning three days a week. The school provides each student with a Chromebook and at-home internet service.

Elaine Swafford, the school’s chief executive officer, told the Times Free Press on Tuesday that officials expect to have the hybrid schedules until further notice. She added the current schedule splits each middle school and high school grade into two, color-coordinated groups: the orange or the teal team.

“We are bringing the kids in safely and [social] distancing them,” Swafford said, adding that 100 of the 356 enrolled students opted for complete virtual learning.

The campus’ COVID-19 measures include using the cafeteria as an onboarding room for students to check in; reducing the number of bus riders; serving lunches inside classrooms; having five assigned entrances; an exiting strategy that includes bringing students out two to three at a time; screening temperatures at entry points; face masks required upon entry; limiting movement in hallways; touch-free appliances; daily routine disinfecting and classrooms with desks 6 feet apart.

Each Wednesday is a complete virtual learning day as the custodial department conducts a thorough cleaning, Swafford said.

There is also an in-house physician, Dr. Saundra Williams, who oversees the school’s health clinic.

Asked about the response to the school’s effort, Swafford said she “just took surveys from students … and they like the way it is. They feel safe, and [from] listening to them, we are going to try to stay this way and see if we can ride this out a little bit further.”