By Josh Loftin

Everything on the Table for School this Upcoming Academic Year.

A very important meeting was held at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday July 16, 2020 at the Red River Parish School Board office. Superintendent Allison Hughes shared the plan for the upcoming academic year. Mrs. Hughes started off by saying “We are going to start school one way or another. Whether that be virtual learning or in person.” Though nothing was approved or decided tonight, all of the options were put on the table for what this upcoming school year could involve. A parent forum will be held Monday July 20 at 4:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium for parents to comment and ask questions as well as the teachers to do the same. It is encouraged if you have any questions to attend this forum. You can also send questions to ​Questions@RRBulldogs.com​.

There are two forms of learning this semester that can be chosen by parents. In-person/hybrid which is In-person learning at the school Monday-Thursday, and then virtual learning on Friday. All students will be placed in static groups which is a smaller group of students they will be around the whole school year. While at school, each student will only be in contact with members in their static group. If a parent does not feel comfortable sending their child to school, they can choose the complete virtual learning option. This option is Monday-Friday learning done virtually. Chromebooks will be available to all students to complete virtual learning. Mrs. Hughes stated wholeheartedly “Whichever option is chosen for a student to learn, we will serve you as much as we can.” The superintendent also said throughout the meeting constantly “ The safety of every student is our number one priority.” Attendance will still be taken for virtual students as well as instructional minutes being met. There are three phases of how school will operate based on the Covid case spikes and what happens with the state. Allison Hughes announced we are currently in phase two which entails all students are afforded in-person instruction 4 days a week while still giving the option for virtual learning if wanted. Whatever may have to occur with the phases, each teacher will be prepared to teach virtually. Even if schools must close, instruction will still continue through Google Classroom. Google Classroom will be used throughout the school year regardless for turning in school work, teacher lectures, and getting in touch with the teachers if the students need to. If parents are wanting to do the virtual learning option, students must get registered with the Red River Parish School Board. Both virtual students and in-person students will have the same curriculum and both will still take attendance.

Meals for this school year are a priority as well. For the in-person learning students, there will be Grab N’ Go Breakfast options given to the students in the classroom as well as a Hot lunch. On Thursdays, each student will get sent home with breakfast and lunch for the Virtual Friday class days. For Virtual students options are still being explored and guidelines from the state are being awaited.

Transportation guidelines are as follows: Social distancing will be put in place by having two sit to a seat with the bus being at 50% capacity. Bus drivers and students riding the bus will be required to wear a mask. Buses will be sanitized after each bus route.

The safety precautions for in-person learning are as follows: Masks will be required by teachers and students in all public places. Students can take off their mask when they are in the classroom with their static groups. Teachers will maintain social distancing as much as possible. Classrooms will be cleaned each day. Hand washing stations and hand sanitizer will be provided in each classroom. Bottle water will also be provided in each classroom for the students. There will be a nurse assigned to each campus, designated sick rooms, as well as limited public access inside the schools.

There were two proposed school calendars for this upcoming year. A Balanced Calendar with a start date for school in early August. The balanced calendar is a year round model with two week periodical breaks strategically placed. The other calendar option was a Traditional Calendar with a late start date being September 8. This Calendar offers traditional breaks as seen in the original calendar with a slight tweak on fall break. 30 minutes would be added to each learning day to meet and make up for required learning instructional minutes. There has not been a decision yet on the Calendar because they want to hear from you the parents!

On July 21, a survey will be sent to parents to choose what they like best pertaining to the two options for school calendar and whether they do virtual learning or in-person for their child. Note, whichever is chosen for the student by the parent will be the method they have to stay with the whole semester. Though there will be a two week grace period once school starts if parents change their mind.

There was a lot of information given in this article. If you missed the live stream of the meeting on Thursday, it is archived on The Journal’s Facebook page!

There will be an opportunity for parents, teachers and staff to ask questions about the plan.  The school board will host a session at 4:30 in the high school auditorium.  That session will be streamed live on The Journal’s Facebook page.