(updated article, revisions made after print)
Special to Wesson News
Copiah County School District, including Wesson Attendance Center (WAC), has pushed back the beginning of any traditional in-person classroom instruction for at least another two weeks, during which students will pursue only distance learning options.
The current plan calls for all WAC students to start school on this coming Monday, August 17, using distance learning packets and continue with a hybrid of distance learning and in-peron classroom instruction beginning on Monday, August 31.
Wesson Attendance Center (WAC) had been scheduled to reopen under the hybrid plan, with all students coming together in classrooms on August 17. But even as Wesson News announced the hybrid plan on its Facebook page this past Monday and in stories in its online and print editions, school officials were telephoning parents to inform them of the initial distance learning alternatives on three days. Students in kindergarten through third grade will go to classrooms Monday through Thursday and pursue distance learning alternatives on Friday with all other students.
"The goal is safety for students, faculty and staff,” WAC officials say. When the hybrid plan begins, caution will remain the watchword:
• Although Friday will be a distance learning day for all students, WAC will provide additional on-campus support opportunities for some students. "Academic curriculum along with the social and emotional wellbeing of our students will be a priority," WAC officials say.
• In seeking to maintain a healthy, safe and clean environment in the re-opening of school, WAC will follow a detailed plan of illness prevention encompassing students, parents, faculty and staff. It covers social distancing in all campus locations, wearing washable cloth masks in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and regular hand washing and hand sanitizing, starting on entry each day at the school. WAC will encourage parents to screen their children for possible illness and its faculty and staff to monitor students and refer them to the school nurse if they are symptomatic. Students diagnosed with COVID-19 will not be allowed to come to school until the risk of transmission has passed.
• Although Copiah County School District will provide transportation for students as needed, WAC will encourage parents/guardians to bring children to school and pick them up to limit bus use. Students will be required to wear cloth face masks on busses.
• Cleaning protocols have been established for custodial and teaching staff, covering disinfecting high-touch surfaces and classrooms. If a confirmed positive COVID-19 case occurs on campus, WAC will carry out a standard disinfection protocol based on CDC and Mississippi Department of Health recommendations.