ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County School District is working on a plan to bring students back into the classrooms this fall, and it’s seeking input from parents.
“It’s a draft of a plan. It has not been formally proposed to the school board, but certainly they’re aware of it,” superintendent Tim Forson told First Coast News Monday afternoon.
The district is sending a round of surveys to homes of students this week, in an effort to determine – among other things – commitment by families to have their children attend class at their brick-and-mortar schools. Forson said early indications are that about 70% of families are comfortable with classroom instruction.
But as the school system and all of Florida try to maintain safety amid the continuing COVID-19 crisis, Forson said the district has lots of work to do in order to have a plan in place by early July. The goal is to begin the new school year August 10.
“We’re hoping that in August, when we start school, it will look remarkably similar to what it was a year ago in August, with the exception that there will certainly be enhanced cleaning and sanitation,” Forson said.
Forson presented a preliminary plan that he said “has a lot of flexibility to it” in a live online public focus group meeting June 11. He told First Coast News that flexibility includes giving students the option to continue their studies in a virtual format. For those returning to the classroom, the operation would continue as normal but be subject to adjustment without entire shutdown in the event of some COVID-19 cases.
Because students in grades six through 12 usually move among several classrooms throughout the school day, Forson said it would be more urgent to impose restrictions.
“So, for example,” he said, “we would probably split the population of students, alphabetically maybe, from A-to-L and M-to-the-end.
“And group ‘A’ would come on Monday and Wednesday, and group ‘B’ would come on Tuesday and Thursday. And then Friday, all of them would be in a virtual format.”
The ultimate plan, he said, might also allow the district to tailor restrictions to individual schools, as opposed to the ‘all open or all closed’ approach that has occurred since the coronavirus outbreak began.
“What we may choose is just to address that specific school and go to a virtual platform for a short period of time, and then bring them back as soon as we felt that we had the building sanitized.”
Another flexibility could allow for schools to remain in normal operation if an individual student is afflicted.
“As long as we have both the virtual and the brick-and-mortar platforms ready to go at any given moment, it could even be individual families,” Forson envisioned.
But he emphasized several times that developing the plan remains a fluid process, saying another round of surveys – one that will address more specific issues such as arrival and dismissal, cafeterias, extracurricular activities, and busing – will be sent to families the week of June 29.
“Just trying to get it in the eyes of as many people as possible right now,” Forson said.
To view the June 11th online presentation, click here: https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/blog/district-focus-group-meeting-june-11/
For more information, contact tim.forson@stjohns.k12.fl.us or christina.langston@stjohnsk12.fl.us.