June 18, 2020
By: Sarah McCormick
PASCO COUNTY – The School District of Pasco County just released its new plan for the coming school year, which allows parents and their students 3 different options to choose from in terms of how they’d feel most safe completing their education.
The three options to be offered are virtual learning through Pasco eSchool, with a flexible schedule, mySchool Online which engages children with a virtual learning environment, including interaction with teachers on a regularly scheduled school day for more structure, or the traditional school learning setting.
The plan details the moves the district is making to ensure the safety of all students and faculty.
The following is a video from the Superintendent of Schools, Kurt Browning, on the reopening process for the new year.
According to the Pasco School District Reopening website, “Our goal is to create an environment that provides an opportunity for students to return to the traditional school experience while providing effective safeguards to protect the health and safety of students and staff.”
Also detailed within the reopening page, it states, “At the elementary school level, we are creating a cohort isolation model, where students will spend time on campus with the group of students in their class, including in the classroom, the cafeteria, media center, and the playground. Interaction with students from other classes will be limited to the greatest extent possible. If a student displays symptoms of illness, it will likely impact their cohort classmates, and not the entire school, in terms of quarantine or other interventions.”
At the secondary level, each school will have a customized plan to discourage large gatherings of students in hallways and common areas, using clear communication and signage to reinforce the message. The number of students allowed in the cafeteria, media center, and gymnasiums will be significantly reduced. Extracurricular activities will resume and will adhere to recommendations from the CDC and the state.
According to the reopening program, the following are priorities for the district:
- There will be social distancing
- Frequent handwashing and promotion
- Increased cleaning of campuses and replacing school air filters more frequently
- Limiting of group gatherings
- Face mask utilization on campus and buses is encouraged
- Screening for symptoms of all students and staff
- Buses will be disinfected every day
- Supply children with hand sanitizer on buses