Franklin Regional School Board will vote on back-to-school plan Thursday night

Franklin Regional school officials have released a draft of their reopening plans for the 2020-21 school year, which will be voted on at a special online meeting Thursday night.

The plan covers multiple scenarios for reopening and operating under the state-designated green, yellow and red phases.

It includes a “hybrid” scenario with students alternating in-person and online learning, and provides options for parents who do not feel comfortable sending their child to school based on the latest information surrounding the covid-19 pandemic.

The plan also offers options for students when it comes to masks, addressing some parents’ objection to elementary students and teens wearing face masks all day long.

According to the plan, while the state health department’s current orders require children and adults to wear masks while in schools, it also allows students to remove masks when:

• Eating or drinking, spaced at least 6 feet apart;

• Seated at desks or assigned work spaces at least 6 feet apart;

• Engaged in any activity at least 6 feet apart.

If the health department’s order for universal face coverings is lifted, faculty and staff will still be required to wear masks when working in close proximity to others, but masks will only be recommended for students.

“Face masks are highly recommended for use during times when groups of individuals pass or are in close proximity, such as hallway transitions,” the plan reads.

The return to school will take several forms, depending on the grade level:

• Elementary: A staggered start for all grade levels, full in-school instruction for those attending in person, and virtual learning that includes 20-25 minutes of real-time instruction followed by fully online learning and classwork for the remainder of classes, which will take place during the same time frame for both in-person and online students.

• Middle school: Split lunches to minimize the number of students in the cafeteria, and a 2- and optional 3-day rotation for online learning where students would undergo live instruction in the morning and time dedicated for intervention and enrichment in the afternoon, which affords support services and special-needs teachers the ability to meet all students’ needs.

• High school: Modified lunches and class changes to maximize social distancing, a hybrid model where half the student body attends school and the other half attends class virtually on a rotating basis, and a full online model that maximizes real-time instruction.

Bus drivers will be subject to multiple daily temperature checks, buses will be cleaned between runs, field trips will not be scheduled and athletic/extracurricular transportation will be limited to the students required to participate. The plan encourages families to provide transportation to school and extracurricular activities, if possible.

The school board will meet to vote on the plan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The meeting can be viewed online at YouTube.com by searching “Franklin Regional School District.”

To see the full meeting agenda, along with the reopening plan and other related documents, click here or go to FRSDk12.org and choose “Agendas & Minutes” in the “School Board” menu.