Columbia Public Schools lays out plan for fall classes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools students will get a much different classroom experience in the fall, according to plans released Monday for a return to school amid COVID-19.

Students will be assigned to stable groups and assemblies will no longer take place. Physical education will look a lot different, too, with some of it happening at desks in the classroom. P.E. for elementary students will happen outside, when possible.

The president of Columbia Missouri National Education Association and teacher at Hickman High School said those smaller groups will be easier to manage in elementary classes, but it may be tough for older students with the variety of classes.

"We're going to try our best to limit a lot of that traveling," Steinhoff said. "I would imagine some of our hallways will be one way, we'll have more structured cafeteria procedures, so there's things like that we are looking at, so school is not going to look the same way it did."

CPS sent the full plan to parents Monday afternoon, giving details for the first time of what classes will look like when buildings reopen in August.

Columbia Public Schools also sent out a survey for families to choose whether students will go to class in person or continue online education this fall. Families are asked to make a decision by Tuesday, June 30.

This comes after Superintendent Peter Steipleman outlined the general parts of the plan at the Columbia Board of Education meeting earlier this month.

There will be webinars about the online options. Those will be recorded so families can watch them later if they can't attend.

The changes will affect extra curricular events, too. Concerts and other performances will take place in small groups and attendance at sporting events will be limited or special guidelines put in place, according to the plan.

Lunch for elementary students will take place in classrooms. Even bus loading and unloading will look different, the plan says.

The district's plans include contingencies for going to all-online teaching format if necessary. CPS shut down its schools in late March as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Mid-Missouri, with education happening online and through packets for the rest of the year.

Spokeswoman for the district Michelle Baumstark said the online education will look a lot different than what students saw at the end of this last school year. K-5 students will use a program developed with Mizzou, while 6-12 grades will use a new program called "CPS Virtual."

Baumstark said online and in-person education will mirror each other in the case a closure is necessary.

"We know several realities, there's no vaccine, COVID is here, it's not going away anytime soon," Baumstark said. "We have to be able to be flexible and have plans in place to be able to have our students continue to learn and begin the new school year."

In that event, Steinhoff thinks teachers would be much more prepared to transition online in short-notice, but it still wouldn't be easy.

"To make that seamless there is still a lot of work to do," Steinhoff said, "The curriculum still has to be written, getting students access to internet is going to be important, getting those hotspots so there is still a lot of work that needs to be done."

The plan released Thursday says the district will shut down a school building if anyone inside tests positive for COVID-19.

New cases in Boone County stayed largely steady in late April and early May but have since grown, with the county seeing its largest daily increase Thursday.

Health officials say it's not clear what the pandemic will look like by late August but warn that COVID-19 will still be around.

Screening measures will be in place, including special measures for students or staff who have traveled outside the area. Visitors to school buildings may also be screened.

Check back later for more on this developing story or watch ABC 17 News at 5 and 6.