MCCSC to provide online and in-person options in fall

Monroe County, Indiana – The Monroe County Community School Corporation announced Friday they are finalizing plans for the 2020-21 school year and will provide both in-person and online instruction options, according to a MCCSC Facebook post. 

The post said they received guidance from the Indiana Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indiana State Department of Health to make decisions about next year.

The school year will begin Aug. 5 as previously planned.

People responded in the comments saying they are glad there are different options while others asked questions that have yet to be answered such as whether school breaks will be cancelled like IU’s.

Multiple Indiana state departments gave suggestions to schools in a report titled Indiana’s Considerations for Learning and Safe Schools COVID-19 Health and Safety Re-entry Guidance. 

The report includes safety protocols schools can adopt to limit the spread of COVID-19 and how to deal with students or teachers becoming sick. It said schools should pay attention to their own ability to maintain a healthy environment and the status of COVID-19 in their community.

Notable recommendations including wearing masks depending on state and local guidelines, not using water fountains except for filing individual water bottles, minimizing the number of students in school at one time and keeping the same group of students with the same staff members as much as possible.