JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — We’re getting an idea of what the reopening of school may look like in Jefferson Parish.
The public school district recently posted its plans for reopening schools from the COVID-19 pandemic. Public schools are set to reopen on Aug. 6.. The district is preparing for reopening under three possible scenarios.
Any scenario that involves children physically attending class will require them and school staff to wear face masks. It will also require temperature checks for anyone entering a school.
“I’m nervous to see what it looks like, because the mask thing is an issue for her, she doesn’t like wearing masks,” said Kelly McWilliams.
McWilliams daughter attends a private school in Jefferson Parish, but she’s heard face masks will likely be a must for all students. She says her 5-year old daughter Blair is eager to get back to school. McWilliams feels the same.
“Mom is ready for her to go back to school. It’s been crazy trying to keep up, especially during quarantine when there wasn’t much we could do,” McWilliams said.
But what will school look like with COVID-19 still in the community?
The Jefferson public school district rolled out its three scenarios for reopening: traditional, hybrid and virtual.
Traditional Setting
- Students attend school five days a week using additional safety precautions
- Staff report to school daily
Hybrid/Blended Setting
- Student attend school 2-3 days of the week and receive virtual instruction the other days of the week
- District will support families to meet their technology needs
- Staff report to school daily and provide in-person and virtual instruction and support
Virtual Setting
- Students do not report to school and receive instruction 100% virtual
- District will support families to meet their technology needs
- Staff report to school on predetermined days
- Staff provide support and synchronous instruction via Google Meet and asynchronous instruction via Google Classroom
“I feel sorry for the teachers in what they’ll be facing. It would be nice for the district to tell us what the triggers or benchmarks will be if they start shifting to distance learning,” Jeremy Williams said.
Williams will have three kids in Jefferson Parish public schools this year. He admits what the district is facing is unprecedented. Williams believes the situation requires a complete overhaul of education. Ultimately, he’s worried about his family’s safety.
“We got one child who is high risk, I’m high risk, it’s a little concerning,” Williams said.
Many teachers are feeling uncertain as well.
“There are still a lot of unknowns, so it does make me feel quite uneasy,” Kesler Camese-Jones said.
Camese-Jones is the president of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers. She says as the district is shaping its plan for reopening, she hopes it includes more input.
“Definitely we need to be part of those conversations and parents definitely need to be part of those conversations to get more details for those three scenarios,” Camese-Jones said.
To be fair, very few in the education system have ever encountered the challenge of reopening schools during a global pandemic. But, with a start date in August, Jefferson Parish schools have less than two months to figure it out.
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