BAKER COUNTY, Fla. — Schools across the First Coast are slowly reopening, with four counties heading back to class Monday.
Baker, Bradford, Charlton and Pierce County students are waking up and getting ready for school, whether in person or online, and all four of these districts are not mandating masks for students or teachers returning to in-person classes.
Baker County Superintendent Sherrie Raulerson is a proponent of returning to in-person classes, but she says their virtual option is available for those who don't feel safe returning.
“We know that that’s the best that our children can receive that face-to-face, but if we have a family that needs the other we have that option too," Raulerson said.
She says the virtual option will be better than it was last semester.
First Coast News got a sneak peek of a Baker County classroom before schools reopened. Signs about social distancing, hand washing and masks were laid out ready to hang on the walls.
Some tables only had one chair and others had two chairs separated by nearly 6 feet. The floor mat provides extra seating for the average 18-person kindergarten class.
“Our children get once in a lifetime to get an education," Raulerson said. "If they miss out on that, then their opportunities for life to have a good quality life in the future is going to be very difficult. They’ve missed three months and we are just ready to get back and get these children in an environment where they can learn.”
She says they are ready to be flexible and change their reopening plans as they need to.
“You have to plan for all the different possibilities, but we feel like we’ve got to get started before we can know what it will look like," she said.
The superintendent says schools will be deep cleaned overnight and sanitized throughout the day.
Schools will utilize outdoor spaces as extra classroom space when the weather permits.
Baker County School District has about 5,000 students in the entire district.