Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Time to read
1 minute
Read so far

Local school administrators developing plans and contingencies

Posted in:

HARTINGTON — Local school administrators are not only tasked with putting together plans for the start of school here in August, but they are also in the midst of developing contingency plans, just in case the coronavirus pandemic rears its head here in the fall.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matthew Blomstedt wants to make sure the state and the schools do everything they possibly can to have students in their classrooms this fall.

Blomstedt said he thinks school probably won’t look like it did when the 2019-20 school year started, but he expects schools to be in session this fall.

“Schools are built for students,” he said. “Our expectation is that there will be in-person learning this fall.”

Cedar Catholic Principal Chris Uttecht said he is waiting for more guidance from the Omaha Archdiocese to come down the pipe in early July. More guidance from the Neb. Dept. of Education is also expected in mid-July, he said.

The school, is however, already taking some measures.

Cedar Catholic 7-12 students will all be assigned their own laptops to be used throughout each school day. Presently, students use laptops from a computer cart in the various classrooms, but now they will use the same laptop throughout the school day. If the students have to go back to remote learning, the laptops may then be used away from school, too.

Uttecht said social distancing should not be a concern at Cedar as the facility was built to hold 80 students per grade. Cedar now has about 30 students per grade, so there is plenty of room to spread out, he said.

Hartington-Newcastle Supt. AJ. Johnson is taking steps to ensure better social distancing at the public school. Most high school students currently use small tables that seat two students. New desks have been ordered instead of the tables, however.

Bussing, and extra curricular activities could also present a challenge in a COVID-19 world, though, both administrators said.

Uttecht said if the school needs to return to long distance learning for any length of time next school year, a better and more consistant plan will be put into place.

“If we have to do more remote learning we will need to establish a uniform, consistant schedule.” he said, noting that different teachers and different classes approached remote learning with their own unique ideas and varying schedules.