This story was updated at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 21.

VALDOSTA – With a 5-1 vote, the 2020-21 reopening plan for Lowndes County Schools was approved and includes a board-endorsed mask/face covering mandate. 

Board members approved the plan Monday night during the Lowndes County Board of Education’s regular meeting.

LaVerne Rome, county schools director of public relations, confirmed schools are scheduled to begin Aug. 7. Teachers are set to return Aug. 3.

The reopening plan gives students two options: traditional face-to-face learning and virtual learning. Pre-K children are excluded from the virtual learning option.

Virtual learning comes with a nine-week commitment for elementary students and a semester-long commitment for middle and high schoolers for grading purposes. A Lowndes teacher will lead the online class daily.

Nine weeks was given to elementary students opposed to a full semester to allow struggling virtual students to return to the classroom sooner rather than later if necessary, board members said.

Virtual learning will take place via Google Meets. Pre-K students who do not attend school will receive paper packets, said Wes Taylor, school superintendent.

Second- through twelfth-graders who make the face-to-face selection will be given Chromebooks by the school system. Any student who chooses virtual learning must request a Chromebook at registration.

Students have until July 28 to enroll in virtual learning at lowndes.k12.ga.us.

“Please understand that virtual students’ schedules may be modified based on virtual course availability,” the plan states.

If a second school shutdown takes place, the board said all instruction will continue virtually.

Students showing signs of COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated.

Parents and students will be notified if someone within the school tests positive for COVID-19, Taylor said, who noted the county’s “flexible” reopening plan was approved by public health and emergency management officials.

If someone inside of the school is exposed to COVID-19, custodians will deep clean impacted classrooms and work spaces, the plan states. Facility closures or partial facility closures can last for up to 14 days if need be for deep-cleaning and sanitizing.

All staff members will receive washable cloth masks and face shields covering below their chins, sanitizing wipes and disinfectants among other cleaning supplies.

All students will receive washable cloth masks.

Mandating Masks

Mandating masks within schools dominated board discussion Monday evening. Board members said the directive could legally be inserted into the system’s dress code.

Taylor said a mask requirement must be fully enforced on both students and staff members; not one group or the other.

During the meeting, some board members felt wearing masks was necessary while others questioned the system’s ability to enforce such a mandate.

Board member Ronnie Weeks originally posed the idea of requiring mask use in the schools “though sometimes not feasible.”

“I think it’s very, very important,” he said during the extensive conversation, adding he strongly recommends the requirement.

Shortly after, he asked the question: “What’s the difference between strongly recommended and required?”

Weeks said masks will assist in protecting staff and students from the novel coronavirus and asked the board to consider the mandate.

An audience member inquired about wearing masks during lunch periods or on the school buses.

Roger Christie, county schools director of transportation, said he does not know what COVID-19 protections are going to look like on school buses.

The reopening plan states riders will have assigned seats and buses will be cleaned between morning and afternoon routes.

The board concluded social distancing will be difficult on school buses. Taylor encouraged parents to transport their children back and forth to school.

If someone on a bus tests positive for COVID-19, the bus will be taken “out of service for deep-cleaning,” Christie said, adding drivers have told him they would feel better knowing students are wearing masks.

Treva Gear, a Lowndes High School teacher and a candidate for District 8 of the state Senate, gave an example of what teaching might look like in the upcoming year as she donned a face shield and lowered her mask below her mouth during public participation.

She thanked the board for considering mask wearing in schools.

Calling Valdosta a hotspot for COVID-19, she said she is concerned about the high rise in Lowndes cases and the number of available hospital beds.

Miranda Edmonds, a Lowndes teacher, said she wants to teach and wants students to return to school but she wants them to do so safely.

Reopening Guidelines

Upon reopening, students must maintain their same desk throughout the school year and teachers are to clean and sanitize the desks once a day, the board said. If students must rotate from classroom to classroom, work areas must be cleaned and sanitized after each student leaves.

All classrooms must be deep-cleaned. Students and staff are to follow proper hand-washing guidelines.

Teachers are responsible for cleaning touched surfaces such as door handles, light switches and computer keyboards with wipes. Teachers are also responsible for picking up items off of the floor and for clearing desktops and tabletops daily for a more thorough cleaning each evening.

Attempting to face students in the same direction, desks will be arranged to increase space between students.

In-person field trips are discontinued until further notice but virtual field trips are allowed. Recess will still occur “as it is important for student health” and because “outdoor spread of COVID-19 is also less common than indoor spread,” the plan states.

School visitation is limited to the school foyer and visitors must wear masks. Visitors cannot go inside of classrooms or the cafeteria.

Large gatherings, such as school assemblies, will be held to a minimum. Parent-teacher meetings must be virtual. Appointments are required for in-person meetings that must take place.

During lunchtime, tables will lend themselves to social distancing with students all sitting on one side of the table facing the same direction, the plan states. Taylor said some classes will eat in their classrooms. Meal times will be staggered and cleaning and sanitizing will increase.

Food items will not be self-served as cafeteria workers are solely permitted to put food on trays. Food choices will be limited.

“Students will pick up breakfast or lunch and return to the classroom or other specified areas,” the plan reads. “All food from breakfast and lunch eaten in classrooms will be placed in heavy-duty trash bags and put in the hallway after each meal.”

Shared items such as stuffed toys and balls that cannot be disinfected are discouraged. Students’ personal items are to be kept in lockers, cubbies or containers.

Any cloth-covered items such as drapes, pillows and area rugs that “are not essential to learning should be removed from classrooms,” the plan states. Items not removed are to be disinfected.

Parents are to ensure their student’s Caredox medical registration is completed immediately for students to be seen in school clinic. Any student not registered will be sent home if showing signs of sickness.

Carts of books will be delivered to elementary students in their classrooms as they are not permitted to go to the media center. Middle school and high school teachers can schedule classes of up to 10 students for checkout in the media center or they can opt for classroom delivery. Any book returned will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before recirculation.

Virtual learning students can participate in extracurricular activities only if no in-school events take place. At the board meeting, Taylor gave the example of a student joining the chess club versus the school band. If a chess club only has after-school meetings, a student may join but if the band has a performance during school hours, the student cannot join.

Prior to the upcoming school year, Lowndes schools required students remain fever-free at home for 24 hours before returning to school after being sick. The new plan requires students be fever-free for 72 hours.

Staff members and students must self-monitor and stay home if showing any COVID-19-related symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive. Anyone with a 100.4-degree temperature cannot be in schools.

Students and staff are encouraged to bring their own water bottles to schools to avoid mouth contact with water fountains.

To increase social distancing, entry and exit points will be designated.

During new student registration, the primary custodial parent or guardian will be the only one allowed to complete in-person registration. Children and other family members are prohibited from entering the building. Masks are required and temperatures will be taken.

Visit https://bit.ly/30tuQGF for the full reopening plan, which includes a COVID-19 response chart and a self-screening questionnaire. 

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VALDOSTA – With a 5-1 vote, the 2020-21 reopening plan for Lowndes County Schools was approved and will include a board-endorsed mask/face-covering mandate. 

The plan gives students two options: traditional face-to-face learning and virtual learning. The virtual learning option excludes pre-kindergartners. 

Lowndes County schools are still slated to open Aug. 7. 

More details to come.