Columbus City Schools begins a phased approach to bringing students back to the classroom for in-person learning Monday.
Students in all grades have been entirely remote since the beginning of the school year. Under a plan released in September, the district originally proposed starting in-person instruction on Monday, but as the county experiences a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the district will instead lead off with two weeks of optional virtual or in-person orientation sessions.
These sessions are for students in pre-K through 3rd grade, and the district will phase in students of higher grade levels over the next two weeks. Columbus City School Board president Jennifer Adair said in a YouTube video for parents that the orientation will help students acclimate to safety and cleanliness regulations that school district is implementing.
“Students participating in career technical programs at Columbus Downtown High School and Fort Hayes Career Center will return October 26,” Adair says, while other high school students will continue with online learning until further notice.
“The district is working with its transportation department to figure out logistics on how to transport its students as well as to fulfill its obligation to transport charter non-public students,” Adair added.
The school district currently does not have enough busing for students because under COVID-19 regulations only one child is allowed to sit on each bus bench.
