By Hayley Loe

Monday night the school board and various members of the community gathered at the Highschool auditorium to discuss plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Most of all the meeting was a chance for the parents to get a better understanding of the steps that the schools in the parish were willing to take, in order to protect the students and staff at the schools.

One of the things that all of the schools are doing is keeping the students in static groups throughout the day. Along with students being required to were their masks in public places and providing water in the classrooms to prevent the spread through the water fountains. All students will have their temperatures checked upon arriving to school and throughout the day along with monitoring for symptoms.  

Any student who rides the bus will be required to wear a mask and after 15 minutes of getting off the bus the students will have their temperatures checked to prevent false readings from the heat on the busses. All busses will have the windows rolled down and air conditioners on high to maximize air flow .

Virtual students will receive Chromebooks, while the younger students will receive tablets to do their work (head-start, pre-k, kindergarten)

Many parents had questions for the school board:

Question-How would the school know if children going virtual are cheating and looking up the answers?

Answer- There is no real way to prevent students from cheating, the only thing that could prevent is for the parents to watch their children while taking the classes.

Question- I work up until 4:30, so how could I prevent cheating?

Answer- The students could log on at 4:30 or any time in the day.

Question- How would the year-round calendar benefit children with 504 needs?

Answer- It is shown in studies that when children are out for long amounts time they regress much more than parents think

Question- Not everyone shows symptoms, so how would they know if some students had it?

Answer- We would have to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the students and staff, but we do understand that not everyone shows symptoms.

Question: What if a child is sick?

Answer: We would have a designated sick rooms and medical personal on campus at all time.

If you have any questions or concerns for the 2020-2021 school year please contact questions@rrbulldogs.com .