Columbia schools plan for ‘once in a lifetime’ eclipse

Columbia Public Schools gave specific instructions to its teachers for the day of the eclipse:

“Don’t worry about your typical curriculums. This is an eclipse day — it’s once in a lifetime,” said Mike Szydlowski, district science curriculum coordinator.

The schools have been planning for the day for almost a year, he said.

The district purchased enough glasses for eye protection during the eclipse to provide all students, staff and about 50 volunteers per school with them, district spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said.

There will be events and lessons throughout the day, before, during and after the eclipse, Szydlowski said.

The events vary depend- ing on grade level, and teachers were each provided with a range of safety videos, lesson plans, models and other eclipse-related information, Szydlowski said.

The eclipse classes will start when school starts next week so the schools can ensure students will know exactly what to expect, Szydlowski said. This way, he said, neither students nor staff will have to miss out on the total solar eclipse, which hasn’t been visible in Missouri for 148 years.

The schools have time set aside to teach students how to properly use the glasses, Baumstark said. Teachers, staff and volunteers will be outside with the students to keep an eye on them and make sure they wear the protective goggles.

On the day of the eclipse, every student will have mandatory outside time from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Szydlowski said. Teachers will be allowed to have students outside longer than that, he said, but at a minimum everyone will be outside for the eclipse’s totality and fullest effects.

Each school will have large thermometers outside to track data on the temperature changes during the event, Szydlowski said. Thanks to a grant from the MU Department of Biology, 15 schools will also have access to equipment so they can track sound changes from animals during the eclipse, he said.

During the hour the stu- dents will all be outside, there will be stations where students can create art, projectors to play with the unique shadow effects, and other activities, Szydlowski said. After the eclipse, students will have time for reflection and to process data they collected, he said.

A limited number of volunteer spots are available, and parents will be able to sign up once school starts next week, Baumstark said.

If parents do not want their children outside during the eclipse, there will be the option of inside activities for them, an email from Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said.

Also, if parents don’t want their children at school that day, absences will be excused, according to the email.

A signed permission slip is required for students to be allowed outside for the day’s activities, Baumstark said, but many students have already had theirs signed at back-to-school nights or will in the first days of school.

The email emphasized that though there are activities planned and some parents can volunteer, the schools are not public viewing areas for the eclipse.

Because a number of schools’ final bells will ring shortly after the eclipse, the district transportation department is looking into whether it will be necessary for buses to take alternative routes avoiding public viewing areas, according to the email.

Baumstark does not anticipate this will be a problem.

Of the 30-some schools in the district, the first 11 get out about an hour after the end of the eclipse, while the latest are several hours after the event, she said. It won’t be any more of a problem for the buses to change routes than it would be if there were an accident on a road or if it were the day of a football game, she said.

Szydlowski said the district expected some parents to be concerned about safety during the eclipse, but nobody really has been, he said. Instead, he said, the top concern parents have is making sure their kids will experience the eclipse.