TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Addison Davis unveiled a plan Thursday that would delay the start of the school year until Aug. 24.
The reopening plan details everything from classroom reconfigurations and busing to changes in the cafeteria structure.
The challenges facing the district if a student, teacher or staff member gets sick, however, is still not clear.
"We are currently working with the department of health to determine what the requirements will be. Do our learners, will they be able to come back after we do a deep clean within our schools? Or will they have to quarantine?" Davis said.
Read Davis' presentation on reopening plans here.
Davis said this week, as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Hillsborough County, the number of parents and students choosing e-learning over the brick and mortar option continues to rise as well. Originally two-thirds were ready to head back to the classroom. Now that number is a little more than half.
The plan would rely on a new collaboration with Tampa General Hospital and USF health to help the district fine-tune its re-opening strategy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Davis said the school safety plan was devised with input from top healthcare workers, CEOs of large corporations and others who understand the challenges. He formally requested the school district push the start date up two weeks to August 24 to give them more time to prepare. But several school board members set for them, that’s still not good enough.
"I'm asking you now to consider the next meeting that we have next week to consider e-learning for at least the first nine weeks," school board member Cindy Stuart said.
"I’m willing to look at any possible consequence that might come with violating that executive order because I tell you the life of a student and a teacher is far more great than any consequence this district will ever suffer," board member Tamara Shamburger said.
Parents are being asked to submit their decisions on which type of educational experience they want for their children by Sunday, July 19.
The choices include a five days a week, brick and mortar, traditional learning environment. There are also two stay-at-home online choices: E-learning and virtual school. The e-learning option is now more fine-tuned than what students experience this past spring. The virtual school experience is where the curriculum is supplied but parents would provide most of the instruction.
The superintendent says he plans to hold several live townhall-type sessions online next week to answer parents' questions. His office is also setting up a frequently asked questions resource online. The school board meets to vote on all of this at a special meeting on July 23.
“There are a lot of things to weigh out,“ Hillsborough School Board Chair Melissa Snively said. “We can make a decision tomorrow, or next Thursday, but it could change a week later because of the virus situation so it’s really difficult to make solid decisions that last any length of time.“
The new service used by the district, called TPRO, let’s businesses, attractions and other organizations benefit from the advice of some of Florida‘s top infectious disease experts, the district said. That includes leaders from TGH’s infection prevention team as well as infectious disease physicians from the USF Health system.
“The health, safety, and well-being of our teachers, students and community remains on the forefront of our minds as we start the school year off on a new normal,“ said John Couris, President and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “Our TGH prevention response outreach is a new service that offers expertise in infection prevention to organizations in Tampa Bay and beyond. Our medical experts will be available to review plans, educate the community about why certain decisions are needed to protect our school-based populations and assist in developing reopening protocols."
Hillsborough County also partnered with USF Health for contact tracing services, which may be called upon during the school year if infections are reported.
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