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MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade County Public Schools has revealed its plan and precautions for students and teachers who have chosen to return to school campuses next week.
Schools throughout Miami-Dade County are expected to reopen to students starting Monday after the school board voted unanimously for the date, Tuesday night.
“I understand the level of anxiety. I’m a father,” M-DCPS Superintendent Alberto Cavalho said following the Tuesday night vote. “My commitment is that we’re going to spare no effort in ensuring that the steps we will take between now and Monday shall be taken to protect our work force, to protect our teachers, to protect our students.”
If they did not open on that date, that would have cost the school district more than $30 million in state funding.
Officials said they are doing everything they can to keep people on school campuses safe.
“We’re not saying not to open,” United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats said during the Tuesday meeting. “We’re saying just delay it a little bit, so that we have everything in place.”
Earlier in the week, the district received a letter from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran that expressed “grave concerns” over the county’s staggered reopening plan, which, had it been approved, would have begun on Oct. 14.
On Monday, students in pre-K, kindergarten, first grade and Exceptional Student Education can report to campus, if they so choose.
All elementary school students and those in sixth, ninth and 10th grades can report to campus on Wednesday. All other students can report to campus starting next Friday.
“We’re going to start slow,” Carvalho said.
Those returning to campus will see several precautions in place to help protect them against COVID-19.
For example, students must wear masks, practice social distancing, must get their temperature taken and are required to take an at-home health survey. For those students riding on a school bus, they must sanitize their hands before boarding the vehicle, which will have a limited capacity with one student per bench.
Once at school, hallways and classrooms will be plastered with signs and reminders to practice social distancing and maintain good hygiene.
Desks will be spaced out and staggered inside classrooms, and the lunch room will also see staggered seating and prepackaged meals.
Along with the frequent cleaning throughout the day, all areas will be fogged and sanitized before students return for the next school day.
Broward County Public Schools also received an identical letter from the state, and they have scheduled an emergency meeting for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.
In a statement, a representative for BCPS said, “Given the financial implications in not complying with the state’s mandated order, there is a likelihood of us recommending an earlier start date.”
The meeting comes a week after BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie announced a staggered start date in mid-October, with all students returning to campus by Oct. 21.
Officials there said they have to review parent-teacher surveys to see how many students will be coming back to campus, how many teachers will be present when they do and if there will be enough teachers. They also said they have to finalize bus routes.
“Staff has been working diligently to prepare our 238 schools for an Oct. 16 opening,” the district wrote. “The time left to complete the preparations is now four days. Advancing the district’s opening date by nine days will create obvious challenges. During this time, we ask that our BCPS community — our families and students, our teachers and staff — appreciates the complexity of the situation and know that we will continue to work hard and be transparent.”
Members of the Broward Teachers Union are expected to be in attendance for Thursday’s meeting.
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