Updated: Lee Schools open Tuesday; district adds mask provision
District to provide 'opt-out-form' for parents who choose not to have their child wear a mask
Update:
With COVID-19 cases spiking in Lee County and the number of positive tests for the highly contagious virus topping 20%, the School District of Lee County will now require masks unless parents decide to opt their children out in writing.
This respects “parents’ fundamental rights” to make the choice for their child while also taking into account guidance from various health entities including the Centers for Disease Control, which recommends face covering in area of high transmission, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which “recommends that all students older than two (2) years and all school staff should wear face masks at school (unless medical or developmental conditions prohibit use),” the district said in a letter to parents sent out Sunday night.
Parents are asked to fill out a “mask opt-out form,” which will be available tonight. Links will be sent to families with children in the public school system.
The policy will be in place until at least until Sept. 10, to give the district “time to track and evaluate community spread in Lee County.” The district “will continue to work with our health partners to monitor the conditions in our community at that time to make further decisions.”
Until then, the district is “strongly encouraging all staff to wear masks to help us mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The district previously announced face covering would be voluntary.
School board policy gives the superintendent of schools the authority to issue emergency guidelines related to Personal Protective Equipment, the letter states.
Schools open tomorrow, Aug. 9. All students can be escorted to class on the first day of school.
Original post:
Another school year will be under way this Tuesday and with it, some normalcy back to the classrooms.
District spokesperson Rob Spicker said the total district enrollment as of Wednesday was 99,000 students, which includes all PK-12 schools, special centers and charter schools.
“Come excited and prepared,” Spicker said of the first day of school. “Your teachers are ready to welcome you back and eager to help you learn.”
There are 1,064 students enrolled in Lee Virtual School compared to 5,256 at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. At the end of last school year there were 2,245 students enrolled in Lee Virtual School. As of last week there were 2,737 students enrolled in Home School, compared to 2,512 at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. That number increased at the end of the 2020-2021 school year with 2,850 students enrolled.
With some of the safety protocols lifted this school year, parents are able to walk their students to class and volunteer in the classrooms.
“Visitors are allowed. There will be health screening upon arrival and those not vaccinated will be encouraged to wear a mask,” Spicker said.
Masks are voluntary this year for students and staff.
“We are maintaining our policy of voluntary masking to stay in compliance with Executive Order 21-175,” he said. “We ask that our families make the decision that is right for them and the school will be supportive of that choice. Masks and hand sanitizer will be readily available on every campus. We continue to have enhanced cleaning protocols in our classrooms, high use areas and buses.”
This school year will lean a little more towards normal, as small group instruction will be utilized again to engage the students.
“Schools will continue as many of the COVID practices from last year as possible including things like social distancing when possible, hand sanitizer stations, one way hallways, seating charts and cohorts,” Spicker said. “However, small group instruction will be a tool again for teachers to use again. Some students lost out on critical interventions last year when small groups were not allowed, so this should be a big help to increasing student success.”
Every principal has identified and developed individualized plans for student enrichment opportunities, he said.
“Every elementary school will have a literacy coach in kindergarten through second grade to focus on ELA (English Language Arts) success in third grade,” Spicker said. “Teachers are receiving training on all the resources available to them this week to support students. These intense strategic planning sessions also focused on attendance, behavior, classroom success and dropout prevention to increase student success.”
Middle and high school students will continue to have their own Chromebooks to take home this year. Elementary students, for the first time, also will be assigned their own individual Chromebooks.
“The take-home policy will be determined by each elementary school principal,” Spicker said.
Again this year, students will receive free breakfast and lunch at the district’s 80 traditional schools, as well as four special centers.
Food and Nutrition Services Director Kandy Messenger said being a part of the Community Eligibility Program allows the district to feed all the students breakfast and lunch at no charge.
“The district has been CEP since 2017 and free breakfast was going on before that,” she said.
Breakfast and lunch menus can be found under menus on the district’s website, www.leeschools.net. Parents also can download the MealViewer app to have their child’s school menus, nutrition facts, allergy information and food ratings at their fingertips.
“Breakfast will be a mixture of things.. hot breakfast, yogurt, this year cereal,” Messenger said.
She said depending on the location, students can eat their breakfast in the cafeteria, or have a grab-and-go breakfast at the bus loop and parent drop off location.
“It depends on the school location and the principal,” she said.
Last year from August through June, the district served just under 12 million meals.
Messenger said they encourage parents to allow their children to dine with the district.
“We are here to support the community and this is a service that we can provide,” she said.
As the school year begins, the district is experiencing a shortage of both teachers and bus drivers.
Although 368 teachers participated in the new teacher orientation last week, Spicker said they are still in need of additional qualified teachers and will continue to recruit them throughout the school year.
The district has addressed the bus driver shortage through an incentive program. Bus drivers this year will receive an hourly wage of $16.32, full benefits, life insurance and enrollment into the Florida Retirement System. When hired, they will be considered a regular hire, instead of a substitute driver like previous years.
“We still need more than 100 full-time drivers. We have reduced the routes for this year by 30 already down to 669 to help out, but that increases some ride times. There are going to be delays and we just ask for patience,” Spicker said.
For additional back-to-school information, visit www.leeschools.net. The district’s COVID protocols can be found at https://bit.ly/2VfHs5J.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com