Recently, Fayette County Public Schools released their plan for students to go back to in-person learning. Their plan is for Kindergarten through 2nd to go back on the 16th to see if it works. While the plan is a nice start, many things should be edited or at least considered for change.

The health and safety protocols are of utmost importance. The masks, sanitization and health screening sections seem adequate. However, the guidelines surrounding temperature checks have some issues. Buses without monitors will allow students to get on and get their temperature checked at school. Even if there is a monitor, the students with a fever can make it on the bus where they are checked again. This poses a problem because students who are infected can spread the virus to others on the bus and this can go undetected. The solution is to get monitors for every bus and when a student has a 100.4 temperature after two or three tries, they will be forced off the bus to protect other students.

Students will all have to be in a tightly packed classroom. The plan, while not perfect, outlines things that might make it in the classroom. Desk shields will be provided. They are not allowed to share school supplies so teachers should be provided with extra supplies in case a student is in need. Since there are no lockers, teachers should also be careful not to require students to bring their textbooks back and forth from school because there are no lockers. Students who are remote are going to be on Zoom and the class will be recorded. However, those students on remote should not have to attend these classes because there could be many issues making it difficult for them to do so. Instead, every class, regardless if everyone or no one is there, should be recorded in order to help make sure students are able to go back and watch if they need it. The unpredictability of when students could be out calls for this measure.

Students who have appointments and or visitors, should be limited to one entrance to the school. This is because admittance into the building twice can increase the chances of the virus making its way in. The sick room is helpful, but it shouldn’t be full of students. If a student feels sick or has a fever at the entry point, they should be isolated in the gym or outdoors. If they were dropped off or they drove, they could make their way back home. The sick room should not be overfilled to the point where the auditorium is used like the plan suggested. 

Overall, while the plan has a good, general idea of how things should go, some of it needs to be reconsidered so the transition from online to in-person classes is as seamless as possible.