By Betsy Finklea
Jackie Hayes gave a report on some of the COVID-19 measures that will be taken in Dillon District Four.
Hayes said he had been working with Bus Supervisor Linda Hanna on the protocol for the buses. When a bus driver pulls up to a stop and a student gets on the bus, the student’s temperature will be taken. If they pass, the student will go to a back seat on the bus. The buses will operate at 65 percent capacity. If a student’s temperature is above 100.4, the student will have to get off the bus. There will be bus drivers and school resource officers in cars who will contact the parent so the student can go back home. Other students, who are riding or walking, will have their temperatures taken before they enter the school building.
Hayes said next week, they will be checking classrooms to make sure they maintain six foot social distancing. There will be hand sanitizer stations around the school. All teachers will have gloves, masks, and sanitizers. Hayes said this really costs.
Students will not be eating meals in the cafeteria. Breakfast will be served in the classroom as it has been in the past.
Classes will go to the cafeteria, class by class, pick up their disposable tray, and eat their meals in the classroom.
Dillon High School will not have more than 150 students on campus at one time. Hybrid students will attend school on Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday.
If a teacher gets COVID-19,the teacher will have to quarantine 14 days and will have to have clearance from a doctor to return.
Everyone in the classroom will have to quarantine 14 days, and their classes will switch from hybrid to all virtual. An asymptomatic teacher, who feels okay to teach, can continue to do so virtually.
Another thing they will be doing is sanitizing all buildings. All buildings will close at 5:00 p.m. They will be sanitized with a hydrostatic sprayer five days a week. Buses will be sanitized before the start of the day, after delivery, and at the end of the day. There will be about 15-20 students per bus.
The buses will take out breakfast and lunch on Fridays. There will be stations at the school for those who don’t ride the bus.
Learning will be going on five days a week. There will be teaching on Fridays. There will be a 5-day window to go to hybrid if one does not like virtual school, but the students can’t transition in and out.
Hayes said this is a juggling act, and they will adjust as needed. He said to please continue to pray that no one gets sick.
It was also noted that adult education will be online.