State officials say they’re still working out details on whether K-12 students can return to classrooms this fall.  Local school districts are doing the same, and they have questions.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, Muncie Community Schools has begun talking about what a return might look like.

“How do you maintain social distancing on a school bus?  And I don’t have a good answer for that.”

That’s Jim Williams, board president for Muncie Community Schools.  The district, like all others across the state, are wondering what fall classes will look like.  At a school board meeting this week, board members and administrators brainstormed possibilities.

“What we know – students being home is not a good model.  We need them back in schools.”

MCS CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski says social distancing may certainly be needed when classrooms open again.  And that means looking at the capacity of school buildings to do that.

“Would that be a mixed hybrid type of model where certain days some students come, and other days they’re involved in e-learning?”

Possible solutions show a set-up that could look quite different.

Kwiatkowski: “You know, we’d be naïve not to be well prepared to implement some different type of models.  We implemented breakfasts in classrooms, so.  You know, you may have to move to breakfast and lunch in classrooms, and then how do we give teachers the breaks that they will need throughout the day?”

Williams: “Are there ways that gymnasiums can be spaced out and converted to be study areas for students who are not in class?  Are there outdoor learning opportunities, that we could put up rented tents?”

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Kwiatkowski says whatever is adopted, kids or teachers will likely still be wearing face masks in the fall.

“So I know we have a lot of volunteers out in the community that are making masks.  So I am going to ask that you start making some masks for Muncie Community Schools, and we would greatly appreciate it.”

Board members say they’ve heard from some parents who are worried about sending their kids back to classrooms.  Kwiatkowski says the district will consider how to accommodate those worries.  Because as Williams says, those fears are valid.

“I think we are learning lessons, however painful, that will pay dividends downstream.  Because I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this event.”

Online registration is now open for all pre-K – high school students at MCS.  According to the calendar adopted before the coronavirus pandemic, the first day back for students is scheduled for August 11.