The Juneau School District heard from families Monday evening in a public forum about the plan for returning students to face-to-face classes.
“None of us will probably ever forget what march was like last spring, and what happened in really, truly the blink of an eye,” said Superintendent Bridget Weiss, talking about challenges the district faced in the spring semester when schools shut down.
While the district touts itself as being one of a few in the country that has a public plan for returning to school, Weiss says it’s still a work in progress.
And with about seven weeks until Juneau schools are scheduled to reopen, there’s a debate among parents about requiring face masks in schools.
“It’s pretty hard to prevent any spread of illness in, in schools, especially in preschools, and I feel like masks are one thing that we can do,” said Breea Mearig, a Juneau parent. “Also, I know because I know kids, and we all know kids, that if you make it optional, that means it’s not happening.”
Screening for COVID-19 was another concern with some parents, who asked if both parents and students will be screened.
Weiss says the district is still consulting with healthcare professionals on those decisions.
“It’s one of those interesting dances that we’re doing with the medical profession that we don’t normally do so, unchartered territory,” she said.
And — on top of health and safety concerns — the district is also navigating how to measure academics with part-time face-to-face learning.
Weiss says the next district meeting for public comment on the reopening plan will likely be in early August.
The recorded meeting will be available on the district’s website this week.
