Schools plan phased return to traditional schedule
Catoosa County Public Schools launched an online survey for parents of students in hybrid instruction (pre-kindergarten, middle and high school).
Superintendent Reese said, “We opened in a hybrid model because we understood parents were concerned about returning to school with the uncertainty of COVID-19. As we approach the end of the first nine weeks, we wanted input from parents to determine when we should reopen on a more traditional schedule.”
More than 2,500 people participated in the survey, and 80% of the respondents wanted to return to a five- day school week. Fifty percent wanted to return in September or October, and 35% wanted to return in January.
“Pre-k students will begin school five days a week on Oct. 26,” Reese said. “Since middle and high schools have larger classes and school populations, they will attend school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday will be used for contact tracing and cleaning/disinfecting without students in the building. We plan for middle and high schools to move to a five-day schedule on Nov. 30.”
In addition to listening to parents, Reese contacted the director of Public Health for the region. Catoosa County has been successful mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the county and in the schools. Reese will continue to closely monitor positive cases in the system daily. If the virus spreads in a grade level or school, it may be necessary to switch to a hybrid model or distance learning for a short period of time.
The school system has taken many precautions to keep schools clean and disinfected specifically for the COVID-19 virus. Multiple temperature scanners are located in every school to make sure students and staff are healthy when they enter the building. Students and staff are encouraged to wash their hands frequently, transitions are planned to minimize large gatherings in hallways, traffic flows are mapped to encourage one-direction movements, and masks are required in areas where social distancing cannot be accomplished.