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What will school look like in fall? First Coast school districts planning for several scenarios

Two local school districts say there is a chance students will be back on campus in August.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — School starts back up August 10 and between now and then, school districts are having to figure out what school will look like.

Will students come back to campus full time or will they continue online learning? 

"We don’t know what the pandemic will look like on August 10th so we need to start planning now for a number of scenarios," says Dana Krizner, Duval County Schools Deputy Superintendent 

She says they have about 120,000 students in their school district. Nearly 50,000 people – including students, parents, teachers, and staff – answered their first survey about returning to school.

RELATED: Duval Schools publishes survey results about reopening classrooms

Krizner says they are not generalizing the data, but will use it to inform their planning. The responses from each group about going back to school are widely scattered. The survey asked parents, teachers, students, and staff to rank options by level of comfort. 

The option with the highest votes for comfort level from teachers, parents, and staff is 'continue online learning until it is safe to return'. The option with the highest comfort level from students is 'go back to school full time'.

“Our students obviously want a voice and deserve a voice in what happens to them," Krizner says.

She says they're talking with medical professionals and the Department of Health on if they can return to school. 

"I definitely think there is a chance that we would go back to school in person in the fall and that is definitely one of the scenarios that we are planning for," says Krizner. "The logistics are challenging so when you think about social distancing on a school bus. If we can’t overcome that barrier, we can’t start school.”

RELATED: DCPS votes to buy 140,000 face masks, asks parents for input

St. John’s County School Superintendent Tim Forson says they surveyed only parents and got nearly a 50 percent response. He says their survey results showed about 70 percent say they are comfortable sending their kid back to school on August 10th.

“We know that as we get into next school year we could see a spike or a change so we are going to have to live in both worlds I think in the coming school year," Forson says. 

He says they've been talking with major employers in the county to prepare them for the possibility that families may still be working from home and homeschooling. 

“Realistically there are  - I respect this – families and individuals that will say until there is a vaccine that I can have 100 percent assurance, I am not going to return," Forson says. 

Both district leaders say they are flexible. There is a chance that some students who feel comfortable could come back to campus while others who aren’t ready could continue online. 

Duval County Public Schools does not have a set deadline for when a decision will be made. St. Johns County Public Schools want a plan set by July 1.

 

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