Masks, social distancing and keeping students enrolled and safe are the main points of a strategy by the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County to reopen its schools. 

The district recently unveiled its blueprint for reopening, aimed at having students, teachers and staff back in the buildings on time for the beginning of school. The blueprint can be found at www.newpal.k12.in.us/News/252.

The blueprint had nine initial goals – have students attend school safely; maintain compliance with social distancing recommendations by limiting interactions outside the classroom; focus on instruction of essential content; provide for intervention and acceleration of students through quality instructional design; support the social-emotional wellbeing of students as they re-enter; resume face-to-face meetings for students with specialized services; move seamlessly between in-person instruction and virtual programming in the event of a shut down; be responsive to parent, teacher and student feedback to create an instructional model conducive to engaged learning; and create consistency for processes and procedures of virtual learning at all grad levels.

Families within the district will have two choices on how to go back to school.

The schools will reopen to students on August 3 for in-person learning. In addition, families may enroll their student in a virtual school program to receive education from home. The program will be different than the E-Learning period during the spring and will be an entire school day.

In addition, the blueprint strongly encourages students to wear face coverings at school and students will have assigned desks. Furthermore, there will be no community school supplies, desks will be washed and disinfected and some students will eat lunch in their classrooms.

“As with any blueprint in the construction world, changes to this plan may need to occur before  or during the school year. These changes will be communicated through our normal channels -  email, the ?district website?, ?Facebook?, and ?Twitter?.     On behalf of our entire district team, I want to thank our community for their flexibility and  support during the COVID-19 pandemic. We all feel incredibly grateful for an engaged  community committed to exceptional public education and the safety of everyone involved in  our schools.    We can’t wait to see your students again on August 3. We are excited to start 2020-21 with  students back in the classroom,” superintendent Dr. Lisa Lantrip said.