COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — Some students will be back in the classroom Monday at Collierville High School after the school switched to totally virtual learning for two weeks.
The high school was closed after numerous cases of coronavirus were reported.
Read more: Collierville High School moves to remote learning after numerous coronavirus cases
Close to 2,900 students are part of a hybrid learning model. One of the ways officials plan to keep students safe is limiting how many people are in the building at a time.
“Group A comes Mondays and Tuesdays, and Group B come Wednesday and Thursday and then Friday is complete virtual learning at the home for everyone,” said Collierville Schools’ Communications Coordinator Mario Hogue.
Hogue says students also do not have lockers. The goal is cut down on students congregating together.
“We are continuing to wear masks at all times, and we are doing six feet of social distancing in the classrooms and managing our foot traffic throughout the school,” Hogue said. “So, we’re really trying to slim that down, but typically we only have 1,000 students inside the building at all times. Now granted, the school was built for around 3,000 students, so you can see that we really are limiting the foot traffic, kids are not huddling in the hallways.”
As for the concern about a possibility of another outbreak, forcing the school to go back to remote learning, Hogue says they’re trying to be as transparent as possible while keeping everyone safe.
“As cases do get confirmed we are automatically doing a general awareness automated phone call, and based on the close contact parameters, we are sending out a specific communication, health related communication to those families,” Hogue said.
School officials are acknowledging these are unprecedented times, with evolving information and guidelines.
“Really give us grace and some patience,” Hogue said. “This is not a black and white scenario. We often live in a black and white scenario, COVID-19 has disrupted all of that idea or that approach. We are working hand and hand with the Shelby County Health Department. Every situation is going to be handled different. It is not a carbon copy process.”
Extracurricular activities are starting again tomorrow.
