Shawnee Heights starting school with “hybrid learning” Tuesday
TECUMSEH, Kan. (KSNT) – Shawnee Heights U.S.D. 450 is starting school Tuesday with a new, “hybrid” learning plan. Half of the students in the district will go to school in-person Monday and Tuesday and the other half will go on Thursday and Friday. The rest of the week will be online learning.
Interim Superintendent Matt Hirsch said this hybrid model will make social distancing easier.
“You may have anywhere from 8 to 12 kids in an elementary, maybe a few more at a high school or middle school,” Hirsch said. “In those classrooms those desks will be spread out six feet apart so students will be social distancing. They’ll be wearing masks the whole time.”
Hirsch said students will have their temperature checked as they walk in the building. In the elementary school, Hirsch said students will stay with their class through recess, music and lunch.
“We will try to keep them separated from the other classrooms as much as possible,” Hirsch said. “That group is just kind of an isolated little group of 10 to 12 kids and an adult.”
Hirsch said this isn’t possible at the middle and high school because students switch classes too often. However, he said teachers will be monitoring students through out the day.
The district is also asking parents to monitor their kids before they go to school. Hirsch said they would like parents to check their kids for any symptoms of coronavirus and keep kids home if they are sick.