EVSC hosts live Q&A, addresses parents' concerns, questions with back to school plan
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – During a Facebook Live Q&A session on Monday, area parents voiced their concerns about the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation's reopening plans.
As originally scheduled, EVSC will welcome back all students Aug. 5 as well as offering both short and long-term virtual options through remote learning and the EVSC Virtual Academy.
Superintendent David Smith said he hoped the live Q&A would allow families to voice their concerns and get questions answered about the district's plans this fall.
The hour-long session was filled with comments from families who directly asked Smith about the implementation of COVID-19 safety practices, the use of protective masks, school sports and other concerns via the comments section of the live video.
Most of those questions went unanswered although Smith said they hope to do another session to address more questions.
EVSC spokesman Jason Woebkenberg said the corporation will send out questionnaires to families Wednesday evening asking how families plan to attend the upcoming school year, which begins in less than a month.
Here are some of the questions asked during the session and Smith's responses. They've been edited for clarity and length.
Question: Will students be required to wear a mask on the bus?
David Smith: "We're asking any and all parents that can provide transportation for their children or their neighbors' children to please do so. Transportation is really one of those things that I think people have become very accustomed to and almost expect, but frankly, there is no requirement to provide bus transportation for students. I understand that we're asking folks if they can help their kiddos get to school a different way other than the bus.
"If you're going to ride the bus it will be two to a seat, and we would love for family members to sit together in those seats. Then (students) will be required to wear a mask. I understand that it's going to be difficult for our younger kiddos, so that's why (it's important) parents of younger children get them accustomed to wearing masks now."
Q: Is the district providing masks?
Smith: "We will have masks available. I did calculate earlier that if we provided a mask for every student, every day, that's $1.2 million. It would certainly be an additional expense that would come out of the cost of other things. We will have masks available should a student need them."
He said they are encouraging parents to provide masks for their children if possible.
Q: Are masks required inside school buildings and/or classrooms?
Smith: "At this point in time we are not requiring masks in the classroom. We're not saying that you can't wear one, but we have not received guidance that says you have to wear one in the classroom if you can practice social distancing."
Q: What are the guidelines for masks?
Smith: "I want you to think about them as an extension of the dress code. Nothing offensive can be on the masks, nothing scary. We're not talking about Halloween masks, we're talking about face coverings. Use good common sense. And if something is on a mask that's deemed inappropriate, then we'll have a substitute mask for that student, that day."
Q: What about students with special needs that are unable to wear a mask?
Smith: "Clearly a mask or other face-covering is probably better to prevent the spread, but face shields are also very effective. We would have those for teachers, staff and any student through an IEP (individualized educational plan) that would deem that to be necessary. If a student would want to wear that, they could provide their own."
Q: Will before and after care still be in place?
Smith: "We will still have extended day before and after school, but they will have to adhere to social distancing guidelines."
Q: Will the start date be postponed?
Smith: "My concern is the fact that COVID-19 mimics the flu. We want to get as much of the school year in before flu season starts.
"I will admit we are starting date-wise earlier than it seems like we have in the past, but it's really how the calendar falls. So, if we back this up until Labor Day, that means we would finish the first semester three weeks after Christmas Break, which is somewhat problematic. But still, I'm concerned about condensing school time in with COVID-19 and the flu season, and I would like to stay away from that as long as we possibly can."
Q: What about medical staff at the schools?
Smith: "We have nurses in all our schools, and the good news is, next year they will be full-time. They will be there before students enter school, and they will be there after students go home. They are the healthcare expert in each of our buildings.
"We just know next year, with all the concerns that I have, that it would be important to assure parents that we will have a healthcare professional in our buildings every minute that our students are there. They will be the ones if a student starts saying that they're symptomatic, then that nurse will take them to the isolation room and they will handle that from step one to the end."
Q: What happens if a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19?
Smith: "This is an answer that probably no one will be happy with because it will be dependent on the conditions and what we discover.
"What we're going to do is we're going to assume that if there have been positive tests for an individual in that classroom, we're going to assume that everyone has been exposed and will test positive for COVID-19 until a healthcare professional says 'No, you do not have COVID-19.' That means they would have to self-quarantine at home, and that means that option B (virtual learning through their individual school) would kick in for the classroom.
"Unless the health department expected us to, we would not close the school down if one or two students in a classroom tested positive. What we would do is a thorough cleaning, in addition to the constant cleaning we do on high-contact surfaces. And we're going to assume that you've been exposed and would test positive and would expect you to go home. I understand that's going to be incredibly disruptive."
Q: Will faculty and staff be tested before returning to work?
Smith: "We are not requiring that at this point in time. Once again, that could change. The guidance right now is that it's not a requirement."
He said students won't be required to be tested before coming to school either
"What we're asking parents to do is to make certain that they're kids haven't had a fever in the last 72 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication, and that they're not symptomatic of any COVID-related symptoms."
Q: What about attendance requirements?
Smith: "We're still going to keep track of attendance, but we're also pleading with parents to communicate with us why their child is out. I'm just asking parents if your child is home, please contact us and tell us the reason why. We still have attendance requirements, so this is not a free pass. But we also don't any people coming that are sick."
Q: Will related art classes (gym, art, music and similar courses) take place next year? If so, how will they look different?
Smith: "Broadly speaking, yes they will definitely happen. Will they look different? They absolutely will.
"In understanding the importance of keeping cohorts together, what we're doing in many of our schools is taking the teachers to the classroom instead of taking the students to the teacher, especially in elementary grades. This is a short-term solution so that our community, our kids and our staff can stay as healthy as possible."
Q: Will block scheduling resume at the high schools?
Smith: "In order to have additional classes, block scheduling is not going to occur this year because we can have more classes formulated in more of a traditional day. So, high school schedules will be more of the traditional day that we had a decade ago. For instance, instead of having 25 students in the English 9 class, we're going to have 15-18. That means you have to have more sections of that."
Q: Are athletics safe for students to participate in?
Smith: "We have a phenomenal director of athletics in Andy Owen, and he and the athletic directors, as well as the head coaches, have worked as a phenomenal team for many weeks to put in place great safety protocols to keep our athletes safe. I checked in to see how it was going today. He said we had phenomenal turnouts, things were going very well. I certainly anticipate that will continue."
Q: Can students enrolled in EVSC Virtual Academy participate in sports or band?
Smith: "We actually have a policy that would require you to be enrolled in at least one brick and mortar class. But I'll just be very frank, for folks that want to avail themselves at the Virtual Academy because they're either apprehensive or they have someone with a weakened immune system at their house, I have no understanding of how they need to be separate from a brick and mortar facility and away from students during the school day but then say, 'It's OK to be in an extracurricular like band or football.' To me, that's very hypriciltcal."
Q: What exactly are the "cohorts" students will be in?
Smith: "A group. If you have Mr. Smith's Kindergarten classroom of 15 kids, then Mr. Smith's classroom of 15 kids is going to stay together for the day."
Q: Will schools have recess or physical education classes? What will it look like?
Smith: "Recess, yes. We know how vitally important it is for kids to go outside and to have the opportunity to have exercise. We also know that, in terms of preventing COVID-19 from spreading, that outside is very good. In fact, guidance from overseas and other research, says if you can move classrooms outside move classes outside.
"It will look a little different because we will, once again, ask kids to stay in their groups or cohorts instead of intermingling with all the Kindergarten classes. We'll want (them) to stay in (their) group."
He said it'll be up to individual schools if they feel like they have the staff and the ability to sanitize and clean the playground equipment in between the different groups.
"Certainly expect PE classes to continue. We want kids to have a passion, from early on, to be physically fit."
Q: If a student is required to self-isolate, will their siblings be required to self-isolate as well?
Smith: "This is not a definitive, but the short answer is yes. If they've been in prolonged or close contact within six feet for 15 minutes or more, then yes."
Q: What happens if parents are not taking appropriate screening methods of their child before they come to school?
Smith: "Please work with us. Additionally, if we feel that is the case, then we have other options. We can educate kids virtually. We take this very seriously. We certainly expect parents to do that, too. If we do feel a parent is not doing that, and I don't want to be harsh, but we'll do what we need to do to protect our students."
Q: Will open houses occur this year?
Smith: "We will not have open houses in the traditional sense, but we will have virtual open houses. I know it will look different, but frankly folks, school is going to look a lot different this year. It's not going to be like what we had last year or be what we experienced last quarter.
Q: Will EVSC's Innovative Model Programs be available to high school students, and will transportation be provided?
Smith: "Yes, they will continue. Will they look different? Probably. We may not be able to go on-site ... as we've done in the past. But just because we can't go out on-site doesn't mean that we can't bring the site into the classroom. We want to do everything we possibly can to still give incredibly rich experiences to our students.
"In the past, we have really discouraged students from driving, but if a parent gives their child permission to drive from school A to school B, we're going to allow that this year to help lighten the load for transportation and make everything work and flow."
Q: Why aren't there staggered school day times?
Smith: "One of the great things about having our size is that we have a great transportation fleet. But it's not used by one school, it's used by 40 schools. There has to be some interconnectedness, and all of those schedules have to relate to one another. That's why we have standardized start and end times. I'm not going to say we won't vary that next year, and I'm not saying that we're going to vary it next year. We're going to make certain that we put the best scenarios in place for our students."
Q: Will kids still be able to eat breakfast at school?
Smith: "Yes."
For more information on the EVSC guidelines and expectations, visit the district's Facebook page and website.