Franklin schools outlined its reopening phases in a board meeting that more than 100 people watched from home Thursday night.
Franklin schools will start the school year in the second phase of those guidelines Aug. 17. The first phase, which all students experienced from March until May, consisted entirely of eLearning. About 10% of students at Franklin schools will remain in that format during the fall semester, as they opted out of in-person learning, according to school officials.
About 16% of parents responded to a survey with the intention to keep their children home from school, but not everyone responded to the survey, meaning the actual percentage of students staying home was less than that, spokesperson Robin Betts said.
Parents now have until Sept. 11 to request their children learn virtually for the rest of the semester, Assistant Superintendent Brooke Worland said.
The second phase will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning at the middle and high school levels, although the five elementary schools and Custer Baker Intermediate School are exceptions. Those schools will start the school year with in-person learning five days a week. With so many schools at the primary level, class sizes are smaller and in-person learning — per social distancing guidelines — can be achieved without dividing the student body in, Betts said.
Students in the middle and high schools will be divided by last name. Students with last names beginning with the letters A through K will go to school Monday and Tuesday, and do eLearning Wednesday through Friday. Students with last names beginning with letters L through Z will go to school Thursday and Friday, and do eLearning Monday through Wednesday. Both groups will stay home Wednesdays so custodial staff can deep clean the schools, she said.
Under that model, most classes will have between 10 and 15 students, rather than about 25, said Steve Ahaus, high school principal.
The third phase, which will be implemented depending on numerous factors, including trends in positive cases and hospitalization rates at the local and state levels, will allow all high school and middle school students to attend school on Wednesdays. If numbers continue to go down, the fourth phase would have all students in school Monday through Thursday, with high school and middle school students learning from home on Fridays. The fifth and final phase would have all students in school five days a week, according to school officials.
There are no specific target dates for advancing to different phases, school officials said.
Franklin schools would give parents a 10-day notice if administrators plan to advance to a new stage. The same might not be true if COVID-19 cases increase dramatically and school administrators need to act quickly, Superintendent David Clendening said.
Franklin schools will be the last public school district in the county to start its fall semester, and the only district in the county to adopt a hybrid learning model. The other five districts are returning to in-person learning entirely, with exceptions for students who opted to learn virtually this semester.
Edinburgh schools was the first to return Thursday, while Indian Creek schools will return Wednesday. Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood schools will return Thursday. And Center Grove schools will return Aug. 12.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is an updated look at when students in each of Johnson County’s public school districts are scheduled to return:
Edinburgh: Returned Thursday
Indian Creek: Wednesday
Clark-Pleasant: Thursday
Greenwood: Thursday
Center Grove: Aug. 12
Franklin: Aug. 17
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at what each phase of reopening will look like at Franklin Middle School and Franklin Community High School:
Phase 1, March-May 2020: all students learning virtually
Phase 2, starting Aug. 17: students whose last names start with A-K, in-person Monday, Tuesday, virtual Wednesday-Friday. Last names L-Z, in-person Thursday, Friday, virtual Monday-Wednesday
Phase 3: same schedule as phase 2, with all students at schools on Wednesdays
Phase 4: all students at schools Monday through Thursday, all students virtual on Fridays
Phase 5: all students at schools Monday through Friday
Source: Franklin Community School Corporation
[sc:pullout-text-end]
