About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2020)
LOCA^NATION The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition - July 18-19, 2020 3B Many kids told full return to school in fall unlikely DAVID CRIGGER I Associated Press Superintendent Dr. Keith Perrigan shows the new seating configuration on the school buses for the upcoming school year, Thursday, July 16, in Bristol, Va. A maximun of 22 students can be on the bus. BY FREIDA FRISARO AND DAVID CRARY Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Millions more children in the U.S. learned Friday that they’re unlikely to return to classrooms full time in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic as death tolls reached new highs. It came as many states — partic ularly in the Sunbelt — struggled to cope with the surge and govern ments worldwide tried to control fresh outbreaks. In a sign of how the virus is galloping around the globe, the World Health Organiza tion reported nearly a quarter-mil- lion new infections in a single day. In the U.S., teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients. The two most populous states each reported roughly 10,000 new cases and some of their highest death counts since the pandemic began. Big numbers in Florida, Arizona and other states also are helping drive the U.S. resurgence that’s forcing states to rethink the school year. California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out strict criteria for school reopenings that makes classroom instruction unlikely for most dis tricts. The Democrat’s rules man date that students above second grade and all staff wear masks. Texas gave public schools per mission to stay closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall. Under the guidelines, schools can hold online-only instruction for up to the first eight weeks, poten tially pushing a return to campus in some cities until November. Most Chicago children would return to the classroom just two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely under a tentative plan outlined by officials from the nation’s third- largest school district. A final deci sion for fall classes for the district’s more than 300,000 students won’t come until late August. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced she will override school districts and require students to spend at least half of their schooling in class rooms, drawing criticism from the state teachers union. The uncertainty about the way to safely restart schools has par ents like Ivette Garcia of Orange Park, Florida, struggling with what to do. When she learned her school district only had two options this fall, in-person or virtual lessons, she decided to keep her kindergar ten son home. She plans to sched ule instruction before and after work, with her parents reinforcing education in between. “The schools’ start date is less than 30 days away. And I don’t feel that there’s a very great plan in place that makes me feel com fortable enough to send my baby to school and then return back to our family dynamic,” Garcia said. Several states have been report ing record numbers of COVID-19 this week, contributing to a surge in the national death rate. The seven- day rolling average for daily new deaths has risen 34% from two weeks ago, while the case count in that period shot up 43 %. Texas reported a record 174 new deaths, and more than 10,000 addi tional cases for the fourth consecu tive day. California’s nearly 10,000 confirmed cases were its third- highest daily total, and it recorded 130 deaths during a week of see sawing infection numbers. Florida reported 128 new deaths Friday and 11,345 additional cases. In Florida, Miami-area authori ties began stepping up enforce ment of a mask requirement. Code and fire inspectors have authority to issue tickets of up to $100 for individuals and $500 for businesses not complying with guidelines to wear masks and practice social distancing. Police already had that power. Shaun Alley, assistant manager of Blue Collar, a Miami comfort food restaurant, said all of the cus tomers eat outside on picnic tables and are asked to wear masks when not eating. “We tell people flat out: ‘Either you comply or we have the right not to serve you,”’ he said. “We haven’t had any issues so far.” At least half of all states have adopted requirements for wearing face coverings. Hall school system creates alternate hours option BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com The majority of Hall County stu dents will participate in either a traditional in-person or a virtual learning experience this fall. But for parents of students in grades K-3, there’s a third option that is a bit less conventional. Around 200 students in those grades have already signed on to the district’s noon to 5 p.m. plan that would have students stay in one room with one teacher, cutting down drastically on the number of other people they will come in contact with, according to Matt Alexander, literacy and numeracy elementary director for the Hall County School District. Under the plan, students would arrive to school at noon — avoid ing the early morning rush of their arriving classmates — and leave at 5 p.m., when school buildings will be relatively empty. “We have some families who say my child — we want to have them in brick-and-mortar, but we still have some safety concerns,” Alexander said. “We want to limit their exposure to the number of kids (and) the number of adults they come in contact with. This program would do that.” The plan carries with it a great deal of logistical difficulty, accord ing to Alexander. First, only one elementary school in each of the seven Hall County high school clusters will offer the noon to 5 p.m. program. He said choosing the seven ele mentary schools to host the classes has not been an easy task. Geography has also been a chal lenge, Alexander said, particularly since parents of students in the noon to 5 p.m. plan will be fully responsible for transportation to and from school for their children. “For example, if you look at East Hall cluster, there are students that feed into East Hall that go all the way from Lula, White Sulphur, Tadmore, Sugar Hill (Academy of Talent & Career) and Myers,” Alexander said. “If you know our district, that’s a lot of geographic space.” He added that he plans to have a final list of which seven elemen tary schools will be hosting the program by next week. Once the list is public, principals will begin contacting parents who have shown interest in the plan to see if the chosen locations work for them. Also challenging is that stu dents from multiple grade levels will be receiving instruction in a mixed grade setting, according to school officials. In other words, one teacher will be responsible for teaching students in grades K-3. Since students will not be leaving the classroom for elective classes, the teacher will also be responsible for integrating art, music, physical education and technology lessons to the curriculum under the noon to 5 p.m. option. Though some parents may be wary of their children being taught alongside students of varying dif ferent grade levels, Alexander said studies have shown “there’s a lot of benefit of clustering kids that way.” He said that the one- room schoolhouse concept works because it exposes younger stu dents to more advanced concepts earlier on, adding that educators are “always going to want to teach up.” Alexander said he anticipates teachers who carry out this pro gram will separate students based on ability, rather than grade level, splitting them up into small groups and administering lessons and assignments based on what each group of students is capable of. “It’s going to take a very special teacher to make it happen,” he said. “I know our principals are going to give a lot of consideration to that best fit. Who can do this? Who can differentiate on a very high level, to create rigor and cre ate support all students need?” Like the other two learning plans, parents who select the noon to 5 p.m. option will have until Aug. 21 — the first Friday of the school year — to make a final decision, although according to Alexander, the expectation is they will be com mitted to that choice for at least the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year. He says it is the perfect option for parents of K-3 children who want their kids to return to school but are still concerned about safety in the conventional, in-person learning model. “It is definitely a hybrid,” Alex ander said. “We do think it will benefit parents in that it will give their child a different school expe rience, and we hope it will create that greater sense of safety.” Riverside Acad, delays start of school year Riverside Military Academy cuts staff, freezes pay to reduce costs BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Riverside Military Academy will be postponing its reopening for in- person learning by two weeks to Aug. 9, according to an announcement from the school. Returning cadets will report on Aug. 9, while new stu dents will arrive on Aug. 10. Classes will resume on Aug. 12. Riverside Military is planning on starting the school year with a “restricted first six weeks,” during which no visitors will be allowed on campus, and no leave will be granted to cadets. All students will be tested for COVID-19 upon their return to school, and those who test positive will be quarantined. School president Stanley Precze- wski said in a statement that a “delay in securing ample testing equip ment” was partially responsible for the postponed reopening. “We are committed to in-person, on-campus learning, and the extra two weeks will greatly increase our ability to do that safely,” he said. Riverside Military Academy will provide a more detailed reopening plan to all parents, faculty and staff “later this week” according to the announcement. School officials told The Times earlier this week that it has cut staff and frozen salaries in preparation for a reduction in enrollment for the fall semester due to the economic effects of the pandemic. BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Riverside Military Academy has cut staff and frozen salaries in preparation for a reduction in enrollment for the fall semester due to the economic effects of the pandemic. According to a statement from the school, “roughly 38 employees either resigned, retired or experienced involun tary completion of their employ ment contract/appointment” earlier this summer in an effort to reduce school expenses. The statement goes on to say that the school also adjusted the salaries of its senior administra tors and put a “temporary freeze on compensation” on all other staff. Riverside Military Academy spokesperson Christian Mims clarified via email that the freeze applies only to salary increases, and there was no reduction in take-home pay for any Riverside Military Academy employees. Riverside Military Academy has also increased per capita financial aid incentives “to ease the economic burdens experi enced by the majority of our cadet families.” The school is planning a mid summer reopening and expects to conduct in-person learning this fall. According to the cal endar on the school’s website for the 2020-2021 school year, cadets are expected to return to campus on July 25 and 26, with the first day of class planned for July 28. The calendar includes a disclaimer that dates are subject to change. The statement from the school said Riverside Military Acad emy’s intention of returning to in-person learning has caused an increase in enrollment inqui ries, due to similar schools around the country opting for online learning only. Higher than expected enrollment could result in “new employment opportunities across the campus in the near future,” according to the statement. Renderings courtesy Oakwood Planning Commission General renderings of the proposed Mundy Mill Road Apartments. OAKWOOD ■ Continued from 1B The company does say it expects the project would “ultimately have an impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the vicinity” and that a traffic study would be conducted. “Due to the location on a major transpor tation corridor and quick access to the inter state system, traffic impacts are expected to be minimal,” the application says. “The pro posed development is not expected to have negative impacts on schools, parks or other public facilities.” Oakwood City Council What: Proposed rezoning and annexation for a 172-unit apartment complex at 4309 Mundy Mill Road When: 6 p.m. Monday, July 20 Howto attend: Online at https://my.jive. com/meet/980421117; or by phone, 1 -669-244-3319, access code 980- 421-117, audio PIN 1 The Ritchie Group is set to ask the Oak- wood Planning Commission on Monday, July 20, for annexation and rezoning from agri cultural-residential to planned residential development for the project. The planning board can only recommend approval or denial. The final decision rests with Oakwood City Council. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ^iWorstlip - Ephesians 4:32 www. chastainagency. com HOURS Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00 Special thanks to our sponsors who make this page possible. For more information about advertising in this space, call 770-532-1234 or email classifieds@gainesvilletimes.com 770-297-1166 235 Pearl Nix Pkwy, Suite 8 Gainesville, GA 30501 CljfayiuUn J RANCH A’GENCY SET FREE Chtw* Flowery Branch Sunday Service 11 am ruesday Bible Study 10 am Wednesday Service 7 pm 5801 Blackjack Road, Flowery Branch, Georgia 30542 (678) 725-0813 HARDY HARDY CHEVROLET, INC. Wayne Alexander & Personnel 770-532-4389 t Weekend
