Look inside Central High as students, staff return to classes with COVID precautions

Echoes of “six feet, folks” rang through Central High School’s hallways Tuesday as staff reminded students to social distance and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Central High School student body was split into half and sent back to classes on separate days, Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18. Approximately 400 students arrived on each day for in-person teaching at Central High School.

Bus routes have been redesigned to limit the amount of people inside of a vehicle at one time. Some even arrived to the school empty.

Dozens of students wearing masks arrived by bus on Tuesday morning and sanitized their hands upon arrival.

Upon walking into school, students are greeted by school staff and given sanitizer. Before entering classrooms, teachers take a temperature reading of their students.

Classrooms have been reconfigured to maximize social distancing, students and staff are required to wear masks, and the bell period has been restructured so students aren’t flooding the halls.

Phenix City Schools superintendent Randy Wilkes greets a student, Clayton, via Google Classroom during his combined in-person and online algebra class with Kelly Sasser. Many virtual students participate and are taught by teachers in classrooms.

Breakfast is provided in the morning as a grab-and-go option to eat during students’ first period. The cafeteria itself is closed to students, and eating times have been staggered to limit crowding.

After three weeks of the split student group method, Phenix City Schools will re-evaluate sending their students back together or continuing this protocol.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.