What Columbus area schools have learned about teaching in-person classes amid COVID-19
Now that all school districts in the Columbus area have reopened for the fall 2020 semester, the Ledger-Enquirer asked the administrations how their plans to conduct in-person classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic are faring.
They are mostly pleased with their results, but various circumstances have prompted a few changes.
Officials responded to the L-E’s questions in emailed and phone interviews. Here’s a summary of their coronavirus lessons:
Muscogee County
The Muscogee County School District used a two-phased approach for its reopening:
- In the first phase, which started Sept. 14, students taking in-person instruction in prekindergarten through second grade, sixth grade, ninth grade and self-contained special-education classes returned to their school buildings.
- In the second phase, which started Sept. 21, all students taking in-person instruction returned to their campuses.
Meanwhile, MCSD has continued to offer virtual instruction. As of last week, approximately 42% of the district’s students with a declaration on file were scheduled for in-person classes.
The only change to MCSD’s plan for conducting in-person classes, said superintendent David Lewis, has been adding free meals for all students due to the extension of the federal waiver during the pandemic through Dec. 31.
Thanks to “extensive professional development and safety coordination,” Lewis said he is “very pleased” with the phased reopening and “very impressed with the diligence of the staff and the students’ response to our implemented safety protocols.”
He also praised parents for showing understanding and driving their children to school to help MCSD reduce the number of bus riders and improve the district’s social distancing on those buses.
“The culture of responsibility that our school communities, from parents to teachers and students, has been particularly gratifying,” he said. “It is rewarding to see the collective action and personal commitments to one another—that is critical to the safety and welfare of us all.”
In the first of its planned weekly reports released Sept. 21, MCSD announced two students tested positive for the coronavirus and no employees.
Harris County
In addition to adjusting some dates on the school calendar, the only other change to the Harris County School District’s plan for conducting in-person classes since reopening Aug. 10 was adding an online form so students and employees can self-report COVID-19 infections after school hours, said assistant superintendent for support services Shelia Baker.
“We were finding that knowing about a case as soon as possible allowed our contact tracing to get to work versus waiting until the morning or, after a weekend, Monday morning,” she said.
Approximately 75% of HCSD’s students are taking in-person classes.
Despite continual reminders to parents and guardians, some still were sending symptomatic or even infected students to school, Baker said.
“Making that choice dramatically affects others who become exposed and must quarantine themselves,” she said.
Nonetheless, HCSD reduced its number of active coronavirus cases among in-person students from a high of three Sept. 1-7 to none Sept. 15-21.
“So far, our screenings — and other protocols — seem to be effective, and we just hope that everyone continues to make the protocols a priority,” Baker said. “We do not have any room for becoming lax.”
Chattahoochee County
The Chattahoochee County School District reopened in-person classes Sept. 14. About one-third of the students remain in virtual instruction.
ChattCo is using a rotating hybrid model. No more than 25% of the students taking in-person classes are on campus the same day.
Among the students in that option, those in the elementary school are on campus two days per week, and the those in the middle/high school are on campus one day per week. During other days, they take online classes remotely.
“With fewer students in the classroom,” said ChattCo superintendent Kristie Brooks, “there has been an intentional focus on building relationships and creating a positive sense of community that so many children missed during the lockdown.”
Brooks wants more consistent usage of face masks when social distancing isn’t feasible, but she commended students “who are actively refraining from hugging their teachers and school leaders.”
Since Sept. 11, ChattCo has posted on its website weekly updates about the prevalence of coronavirus in the school district. No active cases among students or employees were reported as of Sept. 18.
The most significant changes ChattCo has made to its plan are in transportation.
Unless for an emergency, a request from parents and guardians to change their child’s bus stop that day no longer is allowed. Those midday changes had been causing an imbalance in the number of students on the buses. Now, students have one primary and one alternative bus stop approved for pickups and drop-offs.
ChattCo also is using an app called Ride 360, which allows parents and students to track their bus. This helps reduce the risk of too many folks congregating at a bus stop.
Phenix City
Phenix City Schools reopened Aug. 17. While 33% of the students remained in virtual instruction, the students taking in-person classes were divided into two groups, Trailblazers and Innovators. Their number of days on campus has been increasing through three phases:
- During the first three weeks, Trailblazers were on campus Mondays and Thursdays, and Innovators were on campus Tuesdays and Fridays. The other days, they took virtual instruction.
- During the second three weeks, the schedule was the same except for Wednesdays, when the Trailblazers and Innovators were on campus together.
- As of Sept. 28, the Trailblazers and Innovators will be on campus together every school day.
And this new phase comes with a warning from superintendent Randy Wilkes. In a Sept. 25 letter, he told parents that six students were reported as testing positive for COVID-19 this past week — all in grades 9-12, four in virtual instruction and two in-person.
Although that brings the total number of cases for students and employees to no more than 12 and still only 0.2% of the PCS population, Wilkes called the increase “a teachable moment.”
“What we do affects us and others,” he wrote. “Regardless of whether we are in school or out of school, we must attempt to maintain social distance, wear masks, and wash our hands often.”
Still, he told the L-E, “Our teachers have been phenomenal. We have asked them to simultaneously teach in-person and at-home students, and the synchronous style has been effective. We are keeping up with our pacing guides, by and large.”
Lee County
Lee County Schools reopened campuses Sept. 14, with 76% of students taking in-person classes and 24% remaining virtual. As of Sept. 18, LCS had four students and eight employees with COVID-19 infections reported.
Unlike any other school district in the Columbus area, LCS reports on its website which schools have at least one infected student or employee, although it doesn’t disclose the number of cases at each school. Six schools are on the list for the week of Sept. 14-18:
- Beauregard Elementary
- Sanford Middle School
- Beauregard High School
- Smiths Station Junior High School
- Smiths Station Freshman Center
- Smiths Station High School
LCS hasn’t made any major changes to its plan, said superintendent Mac McCoy, but “a number of families” have changed their choice of learning format. Some have switched from virtual to in-person, and others have gone the other way.
“Our design was developed with the idea that we would need to be able to adapt to ever-changing demands and expectations,” he said. “We are, to this point, able to adjust and accommodate.”
Russell County
The L-E didn’t receive a response from the Russell County School District before this story’s publication.
