By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
The South-Western City Schools District is going ‘all-in.’
On March 16, Superintendent Dr. Bill Wise announced on the district’s website that the students currently in the blended learning model will transition to a five days per week, in-person learning model beginning April 5.
According to Wise, preschool students will continue their current schedule and learning model for the reminder of the school year, and those students currently learning in the Virtual Learning Academy option will remain in that format for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Wise said the determination was made to transition to the 100 percent in-person learning model due to a variety of factors that include virus trends that are “moving in the right direction,” the improvement of community conditions with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, new state and federal guidance, and conversations with local health agencies.
He included in his statement that the district has shared their transition plans with the local health agencies and they have expressed “no reservations” with their decision and plan.
With the increase of students in the buildings, Wise said they will need their students to be “even more diligent” in following safety protocols established at the start of the 2020-21 school year.
That includes, “wearing their masks correctly, hand sanitization, maximizing distancing to the greatest extent possible, and sitting in assigned seats.”
Students who ride the bus will follow their current bus schedule and must continue to wear a mask at all times.
Additional items of note in the message include a no in-person school day for “Green Group” students on March 25 to allow for the transition; the recalculation of spectators numbers for all athletic events; and the continued layering of safety protocols in the classrooms and buildings, including the current visitor and volunteer procedures.
To view the superintendent’s message in its entirety, visit the district’s website at www.swcsd.us.
