Monday marks the first day some elementary students will return to classrooms in Fayette County since the district switched to remote learning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but only select services will be offered to a limited number of students.
They're being called targeted or supplemental services — that includes offerings such as tutoring, hands-on career and technical education, and speech therapy. The goal is to identify students most in need of face-to-face instruction and offer two-hour sessions with teachers on top of their standard classes.
Schools can utilize just 15 percent of their building space and classrooms will host a maximum of 15 people at a time. Faith Thompson, the district chief of elementary schools, says the instruction will look a little different in each school, but certain familiar precautions will be mandatory.
"Social distancing, mask wearing, handwashing, sanitizing, things of that nature that are commonplace," she lists.
Next week, the district hopes to phase in similar targeted services for middle and high schools, with an eye toward bringing more students back for two days of in-person instruction a week as part of a hybrid instructional plan in November.
