For some 5-year-olds in Orange County, the first day of in-person kindergarten looked a bit unusual — just a handful of students, all wearing masks and sitting too far away to whisper to friends during class.
Orange County Schools began reintroducing in-person learning this week, with the first cohort of kindergartners and first graders starting Jan. 25. Superintendent Monique Felder presented the district’s reopening plans at the Board of Education meeting Monday, as some teachers began in-person learning with just two kids in a class cohort.
Students in grades two through 12 will return in the fourth quarter, starting in early April. Staff members must return by Mar. 22, although they are able to work remotely until then.
Felder cautioned families and community members that the district’s reopening plans may need to be changed throughout the pandemic and encouraged families to have contingency plans in place if the district needs to transition to fully remote learning.
“Plans can change literally on a dime,” Felder said.
As of Dec. 30, 58 percent of families in Orange County Schools signed up for in-person instruction through the district’s hybrid learning model, Deputy Superintendent Kathleen Dawson said.
As more students are expected to come back to the classroom, the board is considering school day logistics to minimize the spread of COVID-19. During the meeting, board members reviewed the district’s request to allow students to eat meals in classrooms.
The district’s preference is for students to eat meals outdoors, barring inclement weather or temperatures below 40 degrees, Dawson said. If that option isn’t possible, the district recommends letting students eat meals in classrooms as opposed to large indoor spaces, which is currently the default. Classrooms have been outfitted with air purifiers, Dawson said.
Board member Sarah Smylie said the air purifiers are a “baseline” solution for allowing students to return to the school and asked about additional enhancements for meal times — including putting tents outdoors and opening windows in classrooms.
