Jun 27, 2020 4 min read

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the proper percentage of parents that would consider distance learning for the upcoming school year. 

The Canon-McMillan School Board on Thursday approved a plan that will allow students to return to school for in-person classes on Aug. 24, the first day of school, while offering a distance learning option for students who opt not to come back.

Directors voted 7-2 in favor of the plan.

Administrators outlined the plans for reopening the schools amid the pandemic, and said the on-campus option was selected based on the responses from parents and teachers who completed a survey the district sent out earlier this month.

“We looked at what does the majority of our community want, and it was clear they want a traditional reopening,” said Assistant Superintendent Scott Chambers. “No one plan will appeal to everybody, no one plan will eliminate the possibility of transmitting the virus.”

The other options included a hybrid school year, with students attending on-campus classes part time and online classes the rest of the time, or distance learning.

According to the presentation, the on-campus learning plan consists of all-day classes at school, five days a week, with a one-hour delay in start time for teachers to address online classes.

The online learning program will mirror the district’s in-person curriculum.

The district will require students and staff members to wear face masks, but has not determined if or how a mask policy will be enforced.

Director Joseph Zupancic said he recommends the school district develop a policy on face masks because there will be students who do not comply.

No daily temperature checks will be conducted, but parents will be reminded daily not to send their children to school if they are showing symptoms of COVID-19, including cough and fever.

If a student does show symptoms, a nurse will conduct a health screening and arrangements will be made for the student to go home.

Additionally, each school is going to establish safety precautions to best match their individual environments.

The plan is based on Washington County operating in the green phase during the COVID-19 pandemic. If the county moves into the yellow phase because of an increase of cases, the school district will operate at 50% of student capacity.

School board director Zeffie Carroll, who along with Zupancic voted against the reopening plan, expressed concerns about the plan, which does not require social distancing.

Maintaining a social distance of 6 feet apart is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other health agencies as an important way to avoid exposure to coronavirus and slowing its spread.

Administrators said social distancing “will be achieved to the greatest extent possible,” and that the amount of social distancing the district can implement will be determined when the schools find out how many students opt for distance learning.

As for transportation, under the current guidelines school buses will operate at normal capacity, but parents will have the option to drive their children to school, which will reduce the number of students riding buses.

According to the survey, as many as 20% of parents and guardians indicated they would consider online learning for their child.

“You can’t come back traditionally and get 1,700 kids in a high school 6 feet apart – that’s just not possible. You can’t transport 5,400 students with our current bus fleet and achieve social distancing,” said Chambers.

Chambers said the adoption of the plan was the first step in developing a more detailed plan, and administrators and stakeholders will continue to work on it over the summer months.

Canon-McMillan is among the first school districts to adopt a back-to-school plan. The plan must be submitted to the state Department of Education.

Canon-McMillan resident and parent Jamie Bails Richardson said in a Facebook response that she is disturbed the reopening plan “was based upon polling parents instead of science,” and doesn’t believe it addresses what’s best for the entire community in the long haul.

“The infection rate across the country is going up, not down,” she wrote.

School district solicitor Jocelyn Kramer said the plan aligns with DOE requirements, and she asserts the remote learning option far exceeds distance learning curriculums implemented by other school districts.

“Certainly there are greater protections people recommend in some certain circumstances, but I think everyone recognizes traditional public schools can’t comply with every singe best practice recommendation, and you have to do the best you can,” she said.