Springdale district approves opening plan, face shields for prekindergartners

SPRINGDALE -- The School Board voted 7-0 Tuesday in favor of the district's Ready for Learning school opening plan.

"I'm passionate toward making sure students have opportunities to learn and grow," said Jared Cleveland, superintendent.

The plan was created by a committee of district leadership, medical professionals, teachers, School Board members, parents, students and community representatives, according to the plan.

Springdale's 23,000 students will attend school through on-site learning, through a blended model of on-site and remote instruction or online through the Virtual Innovation Academy at Tyson School of Innovation, according to the plan.

"When a school or the district is closed due to covid-19, all teaching and learning will be done remotely," according to the plan.

Remote learning presents challenges for students who may not have reliable internet connections at home, said Paul Miller, technology director.

"Students can't learn without being connected to learning," he said.

The district is taking steps such as attaching Wi-Fi to the outside of school buildings to ensure internet connectivity and social distancing during blended and online learning, he said. Other measures include having Wi-Fi provided by a community partner for homes in need, using public Wi-Fi that may be available near student homes and providing hot spots for cellular connectivity.

Families in need of internet support should contact their school, Miller said.

The board also unanimously approved amending the policy it approved in July to require students and employees to wear a face covering at school when social distancing isn't possible.

The change will allow prekindergarten students to wear either a face covering or a face shield, according to Brandy Wolfenbarger, prekindergarten principal.

The measure will help alleviate parent concerns, many of whom worry about the safety of prekindergartners wearing face masks, she said.

"A lot of people are going to face shields because it's a lot less scary for parents," Wolfenbarger said.

Prekindergartners love to share and are apt to trade masks or to put on another child's mask after they've taken it off, she said, making the risk of spreading the covid-19 virus far greater than it would be if students wore no mask at all.

Michelle Cook, board president, expressed concern about prekindergartners being given an option to wear a face shield when other grades are not.

"We're going to run into problems," she said, anticipating parental concerns.

The recommendation to have Wolfenbarger report to the board on how wearing face shields is working for students 30-60 days into the school year was approved by the board as well.

"I'm just not a proponent of the shields," said Kevin Ownbey, board member, saying prekindergartners are likely too young to effectively wear them.

Wolfenbarger said she has confidence in students' ability to learn how to wear the face shields effectively, saying it will be just like teaching anything new to children that age.

"It just becomes natural for them," she said. "I know it's something they can do."