Clarendon and Hedley schools are moving forward with plans to welcome students back next Thursday, August 13, while working to keep kids safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
School officials say they are doing their best to follow state guidelines, which have been constantly changing, as well as staying in contact with Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, to make sure they are in compliance with what is expected.
“Judge Howard has been a tremendous resource,” Hedley Superintendent Garrett Bains said.
Clarendon CISD released a twelve-page Guide to Reopening Campuses on Tuesday, which can be accessed on at this link, and Hedley ISD last week published an eight-point document answering frequent questions about their reopening plans. That document is also available online here.
Both schools have moved to have registration online, although Clarendon students may still have some campus-specific packets that will go home with the kids the first day of school.
“Also if anyone has trouble with the online registration, they can set up a campus appointment to register face to face,” Clarendon Superintendent Jarod Bellar said.
For Hedley’s part, most of their registration was already online because so many kids live outside the district, Bains said.
“We’ve been doing this already,” Bains said, “but parents can also come in person from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to register. They have to wear a mask, and we can only have one parent per kid at a time.”
Masks will be a big deal as school gets underway with both Clarendon and Hedley saying they will follow the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott. Hedley will require masks of everyone ages ten and up, and Clarendon, noting that different ages exists within grades, will require masks in grades five through 12.
“Students in lower grades can wear masks if their parents want them to,” Bellar said.
Bellar also noted that Clarendon CISD doesn’t expect students to wear masks all day but will encourage them between classes especially.
Both schools also will be trying to practice social distancing as much as possible, which Bains says is easy for Hedley since most classes don’t have more than ten people in a room.
Clarendon and Hedley both will be following disinfection practices, and Hedley has even purchased new tables for its cafeteria to allow for better separation during lunch time.
Both schools will be participating in UIL extracurricular activities approved by the state, but Clarendon and Hedley both also have taken the position that students who do not enroll in on-campus instruction cannot participate in extracurricular activities.
“It just makes sense,” Bains said. “If you’re at risk or worried about being around people, why would you want to be in an activity with close contact?”
School officials realize that this is a challenging time. Bains says most of his parents have been very supportive of the school so far, understanding that some of the decisions are not his or the school’s but rather the state’s.
Schools are also looking forward to classes starting.
“My people are just ready to get back to work and see the kids,” Bains said.
“We’re just looking forward to having a great year,” Bellar said. “We’re all excited.”
Clarendon CISD officials Tuesday published new guidelines for the re-opening of school next Thursday, August 13.
The 12-page document covers several questions that parents may have about what protocols will be followed in the face of the COVID-19 document. Read the entire document here.
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