Some teachers are adjusting their classrooms to comply with CDC recommendations. When that’s not possible, they get creative—even while state and district guidance is sparse.
Jessica Peterson is a fifth-grade teacher at John Harris Elementary in Sioux Falls. Her classroom has tables--not individual desks that can face all students in the same direction as recommended by the CDC. When Peterson saw plexiglass for sale, she drew up designs that her husband constructed.
“Right now for everything that’s in my classroom we’re sitting at about 300 dollars that we paid for to get them," she says. "Plexiglass is not inexpensive.”
Peterson’s classroom was the setting for Governor Noem’s press conference on plans for the school year. The governor expects federal relief funding will cover additional costs schools may incur from safety measures, and she doesn’t expect another statewide closure.
Peterson took this from the governor’s comments:
“I learned that the Governor is not gonna mandate masks, which I think is gonna make it harder for our school board and our school district to mandate masks.”
Peterson says she’s included a face mask in her supply list she’s already sent to parents, but she can’t mandate it on her own.
Beyond these efforts, there’s something else Peterson needs to feel confident in the new school year.
“I need…just support I suppose. Support from the parents, support from the administration, support from my P.C. that they’re doing whatever they can to keep my students safe, to keep me safe, so I can go home to my own children and keep my family safe. Whether that’s wearing masks, having hand sanitizers available, having soap for my sink—I’m fortunate enough to have a sink in my classroom, not everyone is. So how are we going to make sure kids are able to wash their hands as often as is suggested? How are we going to get them to eat safely, to line up safely? How’s recess gonna work?”
In short, she needs a plan.
The Sioux Falls School District is expected to release a more detailed back to school plan this week.