Pandemic School Classroom realities for the coming year
BY ERIN PAGE
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Editor’s note: Though the information here was accurate as of publication, metro school plans and the COVID-19 pandemic are rapidly changing and evolving. Check with individual school districts or visit metrofamilymagazine.com/back-to-school-covid19 for the most up-to-date information. The question never far from parent — or student — minds right now is: what will returning to school look like this fall? With the COVID-19 pandemic still running rampant and cases increasing in our state, school districts around the metro are planning for contingencies upon contingencies, hoping both to give kids who haven’t been in the classroom since March a sense of normalcy and limit exposure to the virus as much as possible.
Earlier this summer, the Oklahoma State Department of Education released a 74-page document called Return to Learn: A Framework for Reopening Schools to provide guidelines for public school districts around the state. Built around four categories — School Operations, Academic & Growth, Whole Child & Family Supports and School Personnel — checklists of actions accompany each section for districts to consider. Upon its release, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister underscored that each district will determine how to ensure the safety of its students, staff and families based on the extent to which COVID-19 is impacting their local community and what recommendations are feasible and practical to implement. In late July, the OSDE board met again to vote on additional safety requirements for schools across Oklahoma, including a mandate for all public school students and staff to wear masks in counties where community spread is occurring as designated by a color-coded map of COVID-19 risk levels. The measure failed to garner enough votes to make the protocols required, meaning it will be up to each district to determine whether to follow the department’s recommendations. Hofmeister announced her disappointment in the failed vote as she believes required protocols could ensure a safer environment for all in the school community and urged districts to “do the right thing” in regards to masking and social distance standards. Districts around the metro began to release return to school plans in July, guided by task forces composed of teachers, parents, administrators and students. Many of the initially-released plans have already been updated based on parent feedback and the ever-changing nature of the virus.
16 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / AUGUST 2020
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