A staggered return is planned
A return to full in-person school is on the way for Platte County R-3 students.
At a meeting Thursday evening, the Platte County R-3 School Board approved a proposed phased-in plan that calls for the return of middle school and high school students to in-person settings.
The change will move students from the current alternating schedule (also known as hybrid) scenario at the secondary level.
Pending Platte County Health Department approval, the plan allows for in-person students in grades 6-8 to return to daily in-person instruction starting Nov. 30.
With this change, families will be informed that there is increased possibility of student quarantine due to the increased number of students per classroom and limited ability for complete six-foot physical distancing.
Families with in-person 6th-8th grade students should complete the e-form on the parent portal by Oct. 23, to indicate if these plans have changed their preferred learning scenario, school officials said.
As for high school students, under the proposed plan, at the start of second semester (Jan. 11) students at PCHS will have an opportunity to return to full in-person instruction. Remote learning will continue to be a scenario, and families will receive another declaration e-form for selecting their student’s second semester scenario by Nov. 13.
R-3 officials said the proposed plan is a result of “working with the Platte County Health Department, other local health professionals, and other school districts in Platte County to determine a holistic criteria for returning to school. The criteria considers qualitative and quantitative goals with in regard to mental health, behavioral health, food security, workforce availability, hospitalizations, COVID-19 cases, testing and transmission.