JC Schools releases summer school COVID-19 plan

Lawson Elementary School hallway
Lawson Elementary School hallway

The Jefferson City School District has loosened some of its COVID-19 restrictions for summer school.

The district released its "Back to JC Schools Summer School 2021 COVID-19 Plan" to staff and families Friday.

District administrators assessed updated guidance from local, state and federal health care and education entities to determine what changes were safe to make, according to district officials.

Summer school is June 7-July 1. The district's current COVID-19 procedures will remain in place through the end of the school year.

JC Schools will still follow its main current protocols for summer school, including social distancing, increased sanitation, personal protective equipment, staff and student screening measures, limited visitor access to buildings and procedures for COVID-19 infections.

However, parts of the overall plan have been loosened. The following are the changes to the plan:

Schools will no longer closely monitor thermal cameras at building entrances or scan temperatures in car lines. However, the cameras will remain in place, and building staff will be notified if a temperature is above 100.4.

Students will now leave their primary classrooms for art, music and library classes. They will stay in cohort groups, and the classroom and equipment will be sanitized between classes.

Masks will not be required when students are outside for recess, but students will play in designated zones in their classroom cohorts and are encouraged to social distance. Masks will still be required inside when social distancing cannot be maintained.

Some schools will begin allowing students to eat meals in the cafeteria again, but students will stay in small groups and maintain social distance.

Non-essential furniture, except rugs and couches, can be moved back into the classroom as long as social distancing can be maintained. Desks will still be spaced as far apart as possible.

JC Schools will not directly offer a virtual education option for summer school. The virtual education application window for the 2021-22 school year will open in August.

The rest of the current protocols will remain the same.

The summer school plan "is subject to change if local conditions warrant a tightening or loosening of any of the proposed guidelines," according to the district's document outlining the plan.

"JC Schools will continue to assess local conditions and guidance from state and federal agencies over the next few months to determine whether any further changes will be made to our COVID-19 plan for the 2021-2022 school year," JC Schools Communications Director Ryan Burns wrote in an email. "We will strive to provide an update to families by mid-summer."