Cordell Classes To Resume on Schedule Aug. 13

Cordell Public Schools plans to reopen as normally scheduled on Aug. 13. The school will be taking all necessary precautions to give students a safe learning environment.

Tuesday night the school held a community meeting regarding the upcoming school year. Cordell Public Schools has officially released their “Return to Learn” plan, offering multiple paths of education to keep kids safe, and a new way to handle the school day.

State guidelines concerning the return to school were vague. The open ended framework for education left many decisions up to the district.

The school is focusing heavily on being flexible this year, and will require parent/student flexibility to have a successful school year. Many things that were discussed in the meeting are subject to change as the year goes on, as things regarding COVID are unpredictable. The school may have to close its doors again if cases spike, but these issues will be handled as they come.

In regards to enrollment, the school would like parents to fill out enrollment packets at home, either on the computer or using printed versions. Completed packets could then be turned in at the school with no hassle and minimal contact between staff and families. The enrollment forms will be made available on the school’s Facebook page and website, and also available for traditional pickup for families unable to access them through the internet. Enrollment days will be staggered, with the enrollment stations for the different grades being located in various places within the buildings, to minimize contact between families.

The school plans to open its doors on Aug. 13. As of now masks will not be required in the building but they are recommended, this is subject to change. Some teachers may require masks within their classrooms to keep the children and themselves safe, and the administrators have pledged to support the teachers’ decisions. Classrooms will be sanitized with hypochlorous acid between periods and at the end of the day. Lunch periods will be staggered to minimize crowding and allow proper sanitization between groups. Hand sanitizer will be available around the school and on the busses.

Masks will be required for all bus riders and drivers, Buses may take multiple trips to pick up kids in an attempt to avoid crowding the buses. It is recommended that parents bring their own children to and from school if possible. Bus riding children will now be dropped off in the band parking lot and led into the PE gym, car riders will be dropped off in front of their respective buildings as they were last year.

Symptom monitoring will be in the parents’ hands. Taking the child’s temperature before sending them to school is recommended. If the child is sick, keep them home. If any child is exposed to another child with COVID the parents will be notified. In the event that a child has contracted COVID they must have three days without fever, no symptoms, and two negative COVID tests before returning to school. If a child displays COVID symptoms at school, they will be isolated and evaluated, parents will be notified for pickup if COVID is a possibility.

This school year parents can choose between three education paths, two of which were offered last year. The school is offering traditional, blended, and full virtual learning to make sure students have the options they need.

Traditional learning involves regular school days with distance learning as a backup plan if the school has to close temporarily. The district, city, or state will decide if the school should be closed or not. In the event of a shutdown students will be instructed using programs such as SeeSaw and Google Classroom, through school-provided devices.

The blended education model is a mixture of online and traditional schooling, available to students in grades 6-12. Approval of the CPAC application is required to take this education route. This uses the Cordell Personalized Academic Center, and allows children to choose what classes to take on campus, and which to take online. The online classes will be taught through the Edmentum program. This requires a semester long commitment, switching back and forth between CPAC and any other form of schooling will not be allowed.

The full virtual education model also requires the approval of the students’ applications through an administrative committee to ensure that this path is the right fit for the student. Pre-k through 2nd grade will receive instruction through the Seesaw program, grades 3-12 will use Edmentum and Google classroom for assignments. A device will be appointed for students to use with this learning plan.

Many changes are to be expected throughout the year, this plan has incorporated preparing for unexpected change. The school’s “return to learn” plan is available in PDF format on the schools website, and Facebook page.