The Perry School Board approved a Return to Learn Plan, focusing on having kids return to school this fall.

 

Over the summer Superintendent Clark Wicks, along with other members of the Perry School District, have been working with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Department of Education, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to craft guidelines to allow students to return to on-site learning come August. 

 

The plan includes full participation from students five days a week. When Wicks presented the plan to the Board, he made an emphasis on density and duration, “Specifically for COVID-19, the CDC talks about if a person is next to another person that has COVID-19 for 15 minutes of continuous time or longer, there is a high probability of getting COVID-19 from that person. The same is true about density. If you have kids that are in a dense situation without a mask or other mitigation types of interventions, the probability increases for the spread of COVID-19.” The plan outlines protocols for several situations, including transportation which provides the biggest hurdle for density. Parents are encouraged to seek means of transportation to and from school that are not reliant on buses. That way there are less kids on the bus and increasing successful social distancing. 

 

Equipment is also a big part of the plan. The District has purchased 8,000 masks and enough face shields to supply all the teachers. There will also be enough disinfectant to ensure students and teachers have access in every room.

 

Wicks added that public input and support was crucial to a successful school year. The board unanimously approved the plan, with the flexibility of reshaping the plan during each monthly school board meeting.

 

Additionally, the District will be holding public meetings to discuss and offer solutions Friday at the Perry High School Library at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m, and 6 p.m.