Educators want staggered schedules

The summer months provides scant time for schools to prepare, as they consider how to put in place social distancing guidelines in classrooms, cafeterias and other campus facilities.

The state Department of Education has yet to release its own school reopening plan that could serve as a blueprint for the state’s 4,000 public schools as they make plans to reopen. A spokesperson for the department said there was no immediate time frame when one would be released, and it will be another month before the state school board reconvenes for its next meeting in July.

The d e p a r t me n t ’s s p o ke s p e r s o n , Taryn Fenske, said state officials will review the association’s proposals, noting the department agrees with the o b j e c t i ve o f “o p e n i n g schools safely and closing achievement gaps that have likely been exacerbated by this crisis.”

Fenske added that the state’s economic recovery partly depends on schools reopening. “That is why it’s critical to take a step-bystep, phased-in, approach to reopening F l o r i d a ’s schools,” Fenske said.

State officials shuttered classrooms in March, as COVID-19 cases surged and public health officials worked to contain the outbreak. Classes conducted classes virtually to help limit the spread of the virus. At the same time, those classes also exposed shortcomings, including the lack of access to computers and the Internet among poor families, as well as other challenges in educating children who were already struggling in traditional classrooms.

“A s F l o r i d a ’s p u b l i c schools look at reopening, we have a significant advantage that we did not have when they were closed: Time. We must use the time between now and the fall to create plans which ensure not only that reopening be safe but that recognize the closing of school campuses had a disparate impact on Florida’s neediest students,” the association said in its report.

The document was drafted by a couple dozen educators, parents, community activists and mostly Democratic elected officials. But it lacked many specifics, including details on how school schedules could be staggered to reduce class sizes.

Ingram said the recommendations and were meant to be used as broad guidelines that could be adapted to the needs of individual districts, if not schools.

However, the plan urged schools to sanitize facilities daily and reconfigure classrooms to limit contact and crowding among students. It suggests that teachers move from classroom to classroom instead of having crowds of students clogging hallways while switching from one classroom to another.

The association wants schools to temporarily do away with emergency drills, including fire and activeshooter drills, to minimize disruptions and to keep students from having to gather in large groups.

MIKE STOCKER/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL Nikki Warris has concerns about sending her children back to school in the fall.