InTouch with Southern Kentucky August 2020 | Page 25

Our teachers have been working
hard this summer trying to prepare
for virtual instruction.
Patrick Richardson
Pulaski Schools Superintendent
Like Pulaski County, the training
will be geared toward distance
learning, particularly Google
Classroom and recording/uploading
lessons.
Dyehouse also mentioned that
between 15 and 20 percent of
students are without reliable
internet access, so the school is
also preparing packets for students
who may not be able to complete
their lessons online.
“We have plenty of [internet]
capability in house to do what we
need to do to get the lessons out,”
he added.
To make up for the later-thanusual
start date, an extra half-hour
will be tacked on to the end of each
school day — something Supt.
Dyehouse said he’d gotten good
feedback about from parents. As of
now, Closing Day is scheduled for
May 20.
Safety precautions being
discussed for in-school students
include:
• Temperature checks for students
as they load buses or before they
exit parent vehicles.
• Strategic traffic flow plans to
reduce students in the hallways/
common areas.
* No lockers will be used and
students will report to classes as
soon as they arrive at school.
• P-5 students will remain in
their classrooms and teachers will
change classes for instruction.
• All students will still receive
“specials” classes each day as
well as outdoor recess as weather
permits. Playground times will be
scheduled at alternating times for
students.
• Masks will be available for
students, or they may bring their
own from home. Through social
distancing during class time,
students will only have to wear their
masks as they move to different
locations. Health conditions that
prohibit students from wearing
masks will be accommodated on an
individual basis.
• Extra cleaning and sanitizing will
take place throughout the day and
in the evenings.
• Teachers will wear PPE if
working in small groups with
students. School officials hope to
use face shields when possible so
students can still see teachers’ faces
completely.
• Common areas (lobby, cafeteria,
auditorium, etc.) will have limited
access for students.
• The school nurse will have
procedures in place for students/
faculty who exhibit COVID-19
symptoms separate from the
Nurse’s Office.
• Students may be asked to
alternate eating in the cafeteria and
classroom so that no student eats in
classrooms everyday but the school
can maintain social distancing
safely.
• The school encourages as many
students as possible to be picked
up and dropped off rather than ride
the bus.
• Buses will have assigned seats
and students must wear masks.
• All staff members will be tested
for COVID-19 before the first day of
school.
Supt. Dyehouse stressed that
distance learning in not the same
as home schooling. Parents
considering distance learning
would still very much be part of the
district and all its services. At press
time, about have of the student
body had registered — some 250
kids — with only 28 opting for
distance learning so far.
Distance learners should expect
the following guidelines:
• Students would stay at home
each day but must log on to Google
Classroom to watch videos of their
teachers giving direct instruction
to the in-school group. Daily
participation would be required and
tracked.
• Students would be expected to
complete the same assignments as
in-class students but work might be
submitted once a week rather than
daily.
• Distance learning students
would still be able to participate in
any extracurricular activities that
are offered.
• Distance learning students can
pick up their lunch each day as an
enrolled student at Science Hill.
• A contract between parents
and the school district outlining
the responsibilities of both parties
would need to be signed.
• Should the COVID-19 situation
change and parents feel comfortable
sending their child back to school,
Science Hill would accept the
student back for face-to-face
learning.
Additional information can be
found on the district’s Facebook
page “Science Hill School
Announcements.”
AUGUST 2020 In Touch with Southern Kentucky • 25