Russell County School District announces how it will deal with solar eclipse

The Russell County School District will follow its regular schedule Aug. 21, the day of the solar eclipse, but will consider absences excused if parents choose to keep their children home or check them out early as a safety precaution.

RCSD public relations director Jasponica Florence told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Monday night, “As of today, Russell County School District has decided to remain in school following our normal school day schedule on Monday, August 21, 2017. This teachable moment will be approached using extreme caution.”

Florence listed the following procedures for that day:

• “Our parents may opt to keep their child(ren) home or may check their child(ren) out. Such absences will be marked excused.”
• “Teachers who incorporate this rare occurrence into their lesson plan must have written parent permission prior to student participation.”
• “For students who are granted written parental permission, they will not view the eclipse directly. This decision is based on research that speaks to irreversible retina damage as a possiblity even in our area where we may experience 90 to 95% coverage.”

The school districts in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties announced Friday their procedures for the solar eclipse. The Harris County School District announced its procedures Sunday night. Phenix City Schools announced its procedures Monday.

In the Columbus area, the eclipse will begin at 1:05 p.m., with the Moon starting to block some of the Sun, and last until 4:03 p.m., when the last part of the Moon move past the Sun. The maximum eclipse in Columbus will occur at 2:37 p.m., when the Moon will block 92 percent of the Sun and viewing it without proper protection will be dangerous, according to Shawn Cruzen, executive director of the Columbus State University Coca-Cola Space Science Center, who presented tips on how to safely view the eclipse.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Russell County School District announces how it will deal with solar eclipse."