Germantown reveals plans for reopening
When Germantown students return to school this fall, the decision for which students will attend the most in-person classes and which will mostly learn from home will depend largely on grade level.
Highlights from the Germantown Municipal School District plan were shared in a Tuesday evening school board meeting.
The youngest students still learning foundational skills will attend in person more often while older students will be permitted to attend part time, supplementing classroom time with virtual learning.
“We wanted to figure out a way to get (kindergarten) through sixth grade on campus,” Assistant Superintendent Teresa Price said during the virtual meeting. “It’s imperative that kindergarten through second grade — those are foundational skills — they need in-person instruction. It is really difficult to teach phonics and teach reading from a distance.”
Those students will attend class five days each week. Generally speaking, older students in grades 7 through 12 will attend school in person twice each week and receive digital education the other three days.
The school district expects that some older students may attend in-person classes more often. Individual arrangements will be made at each school.
Price said officials spent time this summer measuring classrooms to determine how to best teach in person while social distancing. The average classroom in Germantown is about 800 square feet, she said. That means between 16 and 20 children will be able to sit in each classroom while still observing social-distancing guidelines.
School districts across Shelby Coun
ty and the country are making decisions about how students will safely learn this fall. Germantown's plan varies from the one Shelby County Schools issued last week.
In the SCS plan, parents have until Saturday to decide if their children will physically go to school everyday or learn virtually. Children of parents who don't choose by the deadline will automatically be enrolled for daily in-person classes.
Those decisions will be final though the end of the fall semester. At that point, parents will be able to choose again.
Collierville Schools created a plan similar to SCS that will require parents to choose between virtual and in-person education. In Millington, parents were able to decide if their children would learn virtually full time. Those attending school in person will only do so twice each week and will supplement their education with virtual learning.
Parents to provide masks, health screenings
Germantown students will be required to wear masks when they arrive at school each morning and when they leave each afternoon. Masks will also be required between classes and at other times when social distancing is impossible.
Parents will be expected to provide facial coverings for their children but each school with have a supply of disposable masks available for students who need them, said Assistant Superintendent Chauncey Bland.
“Use of coverings in the classroom, they are recommended but not required if social distancing is being observed and practiced,” Bland said. “Exceptions for students with disabilities and other health impairments will be made.”
Parents will be expected to perform daily health screenings at home. The school district will provide detailed instructions for how parents should conduct these screenings at a later date, but Bland said the screening will include a temperature check and a series of questions about symptoms.
The plan also notes that recess will continue in the new school year with social distancing requirements. School cafeterias will close, however, and lunch will be served in classrooms.
While other school districts have delayed the start of the school year, Germantown schools still intend to start on
Aug. 6.
Desiree Stennett is a reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.