County School officials on Thursday night outlined a plan with with four phases for reopening that is tied to the current number of active coronavirus cases in the county. Phase one would be remote learning, with all schools closed. Phase two would be hybrid learning and reduced days at schools. By phase three, all schools would be open and some campuses would still engage in hybrid or remote learning. And then by phase four, all schools would be open.
“If we were in phase three, we would be somewhere between 400 active cases to 1,500 active cases,” said Keith Fogleman, who drew up the plan along with retired Lt. Col. Will Brooks. “And as we approach those 1,500 active cases, we would look at what’s going on with the number of daily cases, what do hospitalizations look like, how many patients do we have in ICU?”
He said that today in Hamilton County, there are 1,139 active cases, which is higher than it was in the last few days. He said that as Hamilton County approaches 1,500 or hospitalization numbers spike, the school system would look to transition to phase two if schools were currently in session.
“We think it (virus) will continue to go up a bit, and we hope that we can get a handle on it,” said Dr. Charles Woods, who joined the panel midway through. “As an infectious disease specialist, I’ve been very impressed with the work of the task force and how they’ve put things together. I do believe you’ve got that right, and we’ll continue to adjust moving forward.”
Col. Brooks and Mr. Fogleman were responsible for organizing the structure of and developing the plan. Task force members were given the opportunity to conduct surveys with their districts. They said the top priority was the health of the students and staff.
“We’ve received a lot of calls, as you can imagine, a lot of emails and messages, and everyone is asking me about the details and the small important things,” said Col. Brooks, who then went into what the plan is.
“The plan is not a how-to document, and it is not set in stone,” said the retired lieutenant colonel, “and we are continuing to learn and adapt.”
The stakeholder surveys were aimed at gathering feedback on the phased approach plan, which meant asking questions such as: “Do you understand the phased approach,” “Which option would your family choose if opened today,” and “by what date would you be able to make a final determination.”
Of the 25,000 or so responses, 77 percent came from parents, 3.4 percent came from students, around 15.9 percent came from HCS employees, and 3.1 percent came from community members. One third of the responses would be interested in schooling at home, while 60 percent would be interested in learning in the “HCS learning continuum.”
During both surveys, around 40-45 percent of those surveyed said they would be comfortable with themselves or their child going back to school on Aug. 12. Around 25-30 percent did not know, and around 25-30 percent said they would not feel comfortable.
Superintendent Johnson stressed that the previous plan is “just a framework.” He said that even if there are fewer cases in schools, but those cases are popping up in every single school in the county, then Hamilton County Schools may decide to close things down for a few days.
The task force then went over the different options for families who may want their child to have virtual/at-home learning or some other kind of learning.
The schooling at home option was said to likely attract around 30 percent of students. Signing up for this option will be available from July 8 to July 22. Dr. Johnson said it would be a semester-long commitment, and there will be a handbook and orientation for that.
When it comes to attendance, the state department will have to submit a plan for schools. Dr. Johnson said this department released a rubric, and now Hamilton County will simply copy and paste the majority of the continuous learning plan onto their own plan. In regards to using Google Classrooms, Dr. Johnson said the schools will use a single site with a single user name for each student, in order to avoid confusion in regards to accessing online learning tools or classrooms.
Dr. Johnson said that regardless of what option the students choose, Hamilton County’s funding will not be affected. He said every school system is going through the same COVID-related issues Hamilton County is.
Board member Rhonda Thurman wondered how schools plan to react to students who have a sore throat or allergies. With schools on alert when it comes to possible COVID cases, she questioned if schools would shut down simply because one or two students had to be sent home because of a possible infection (that turns out to be a cold or something else).
“We know this is going to be a very interesting year, and all we can go off of is the data and science and symptoms that are there,” said Dr. Johnson. “We’ve had conversations with working with the Health Department to continue the establishment of sites where we can encourage parents to double check if their child has symptoms. We’ve just got to navigate this challenge, and that’s what this semester is going to be. Until we have a vaccine, we don’t know what we don’t know.”
“I want to be frank, there will be COVID cases on campus, whether that’s a student or a teacher or staff member,” said Dr. Johnson. “Our job is to make sure we do our due diligence, and mitigate as much as we can and get that school back up and our students in a safe environment.”
The school board also went over the “Whole Child Support Plan,” which aims to assist every student socially, emotionally, and academically. According to one of the slides in the presentation, it will provide English language learners more opportunities to learn the language, and work with parents and students to provide support.
Hamilton County schools will also be formulating a plan for picking up and dropping off students for bus transportation, which involves having students wear masks and sitting in assigned seats. The schools are also looking for a way to safely provide meals to students.
Extracurricular activities such as marching band and athletics will also receive guidance from NFHS. Symptom-checking and small groups were described as “successful.” The board said they are still waiting for the TSSAA before proceeding further. Childcare will still be offered by schools, and Shane Harwood said afterschool childcare is a top priority for the county and their schools.
Col. Brooks said the county wants to reach out to all staff members with the plan for reopening by July 17. All parents will be informed of the plan by the end of July, and then the community should be made aware as a whole by August at the latest. He said town hall meetings, video updates, and communication with the LatinX community are all going to be used to spread the word.
As expected, Hamilton County Schools will encourage wearing face masks. In addition to this, all are asked to social distance by staying at least six feet away from one another. They are also asked to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at a time, or to use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available. Those who are sick are asked to stay at home.
All students and staff are required to wear a mask unless they are in a large outdoor space or a gymnasium. He said kindergarten to second grade students are recommended but not required to wear a mask in the classroom.
Yet again, Ms. Thurman expressed displeasure with the plan. She said it was unfair to force younger students to wear a mask, since that could hinder their learning. She also wondered aloud if wearing a mask even has an effect on limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Ms. Thurman said, "I believe this is a parental responsibility. If parents want their children to wear a mask, let them, if they don’t, they shouldn’t."
A doctor told the school board nothing is perfect, but that masks could help. He said even if one of 1,000 is prevented from a severe infection, that would make masks worth it.
School board member Jenny Hill said she was comfortable with the plan. She said the county’s plan is “backed by science,” and that everything seems to be thought out. She also said it was “ridiculous” that the board members were even debating the usefulness of masks, since she said “the science shows it protects people.”
“Families want their kids back in school, and if they have to wear a mask to do it to stop the spread,” said Ms. Hill, “and that therefore limits the spread of COVID in the public, then all the better we’ll have less COVID overall.”
After the lengthy discussion about masks, the rest of the meeting concluded within 10 minutes. The board went over a brief recap of what they had discussed in terms of a timeline, and then the meeting was adjourned.
At the start of the contentious special meeting, Chairman Joe Wingate stressed that the safety of students and staff were of the utmost importance, and said that plans could change in time.
“In these unprecedented times, we take the safety of our students and our staff as the forefront of what we do,” said Mr. Wingate. “I anticipate that this plan is going to provide a framework for schools for the 2021 school year, and we are in an environment that is fluid.”