SPARTA — With just over a month left until school starts, Highland Local Schools released their reopening plans giving students, and their parents, two options on how to return back to school. Students can either choose to return to the classroom in-person or attend the 2020-21 school year online.
The reopening plans utilize the state’s color-coded health advisory system to determine how students will return to school. If Morrow County is yellow or orange, students will return full time. If the county moves to red, students will be separated into two groups and have a hybrid model where they receive two days of in-person instruction and the rest online. If the county were to ever go purple, the school would move to 100 percent online.
Currently, the reopening plans only highly recommend that students wear face coverings while in the school building or riding a bus. But Huffman also said they are working off of how the county is labeled under the health advisory system. Masks will become mandatory if the county moves to red, or if the state is under a state-wide order when school reopens on Sept. 8.
“We have about 15 percent of students who chose the virtual option,” he said, adding that it’s pretty evenly split between all of their buildings.
The virtual plans include designating certain elementary school teachers to teach 100 percent online. This way, those teachers can be more hands-on with the students, Huffman said. Middle school and high school students will have curriculum delivered to them through an online teaching company, with Highland teachers providing assistance to them. If parents choose to have their students return online, the student has to remain online for the rest of the year due to issues relating to staffing.
“I know this is an extremely stressful time,” Huffman said in regards to parents having to choose how their students will start the school year. “There are so many unknowns. I want them to have the information necessary, but sometimes I don’t have the answer.”
Huffman was able to answer some questions from parents during an online question and answer session last week. Huffman said that he is also answering any questions he receives through his email.
The situation that they are in, he continued, is fluid and things are always changing. The school is working on a daily basis to plan for how students will return.
“The plans we have right now could change,” Huffman said. “We’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best.”
Currently, the school year will start on their scheduled opening day of Sept. 8 with students returning full time as normal. Huffman said since they start after Labor Day, it works out in their favor to have more time to plan for the return of students.
The full reopening plans with more detailed information can be found on the school’s website.