Like other educators and school administrators, Matt Tucker, interim principal at St. Joseph Catholic School in Conway, has been preparing for the new school year.
"We're just a few days from having the Bulldogs back in the building," he said, referring to the school's mascot.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic that closed most schools, restaurants and businesses nationwide, educators and administrators have been scrambling to create learning environments that adhere to state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in time for students' return to the classroom.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson in July pushed back the beginning of the school year in Arkansas from Aug. 13 to the week of Aug. 24 to allow more time for schools to prepare. Public and private schools alike have been equipping school buildings and planning guidelines and protocols to be implemented during the academic year.
Efforts to coordinate those changes for on-site and virtual instruction with parents and students via student orientations and other modes of communication have already begun in Arkansas this week as the number of U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed five million.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
Theresa Hall, superintendent of Arkansas' Catholic schools, said the diocese's Office of Catholic Schools encouraged schools to put together a task force committee that included teachers, staff, parents and medical personnel working together to create plans tailored to meet social distancing and other requirements -- depending on factors such as enrollment and classroom size. Lunchtime, recess and drop-off and pick-up protocols are modified and are without the volunteers "our schools rely heavily on" in the effort to limit outside contacts.
"But with all of this I continue to [be] amazed at the creative videos and virtual open houses that the schools have shared with their school families," Hall said in an email.
At St. Joseph, which teaches pre-K through 12th grade in three buildings, signs will emphasize handwashing and social distancing, and mark the one-way flow of student traffic in the halls. In the classroom, disinfectant foggers will be used daily to clean. Desks that were once situated more closely and facing one another to encourage collaboration will instead face the front of the room in rows -- another precaution that Tucker said will be new terrain for students.
"Let's face it. This year, we're all pioneers," Tucker said. "We're coming into a new school year ... I'm sitting here talking to you with a face mask hanging around my neck."
Sara Jones, principal of the ninth- through 12th-grade girls' school Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock, said their school will adhere to a one-way flow of students through the halls. At lunchtime, students will be divided between the cafeteria and the gym.
"We're just really trying to focus on that social distancing and keeping everybody six feet apart," Jones said.
Principal Karen Hollenbeck of Fort Smith's Trinity Catholic Junior High School said sinks and water fountains in the school have been refitted to be touchless. Cafeteria equipment was "dismantled" to create six stations for students to be seated socially distant, and a building bought nearby a couple of years ago will double the square footage students will need for distancing.
This fall, the approximately 475 students returning to Mount St. Mary on Aug. 24 will be divided into two groups: the first will attend Mondays and Tuesdays on-site, while the other will learn remotely; the groups will swap for Thursdays and Fridays, and the school building will close Wednesdays for cleaning.
As of Tuesday, 25 Mount St. Mary students had chosen to remain home full time for the school year, where they will learn alongside their on-site peers, as Jones said the school is striving to provide the same experience for both groups.
Hollenbeck expressed a similar intentionality with regard to the school's approach for the fall, recalling the abrupt transition to online learning the school made in March.
"[Going virtual] was a situation that was just thrust upon us, and so we decided we would not let that happen again," Hollenbeck said. "We were going to really try to make plans that helped keep everybody safe ... masked and really following the health protocols -- being very careful to make sure that we were doing what we thought we needed to do academically."
Mass in Catholic schools is being held in accordance with directives the diocese set forth earlier in the year to limit the spread of coronavirus, such as remaining masked throughout the service.
"That's one thing that as a Catholic school has been really important to us, was being able to participate as a community in that Mass each week," Hollenbeck said. "We knew we didn't want to take that away."
With approximately 220 students and a chapel that seats 250, Trinity has planned to move its Masses to the gymnasium, and splitting the student body into two groups, each attending once a week.
"It's certainly not the best scenario, where we're all in there together, and we're building community while that's going on, but that's better than not being together at all," Hollenbeck said.
Jones said that for students' well-being, Mount St. Mary bought a wellness app for students to download and meditate with. The school also has hired an additional counselor for freshmen, and a wellness center will open this fall with a virtual version for students to reduce stress and anxiety.
Tucker said St. Joseph is keeping students' social and emotional needs in mind.
"They're already going to come in with a lot of baggage to begin with, but then they've got this covid cloud [that's] hanging over them," he said.
Tucker said Kristen Piraino, one of the school's counselors, created a virtual calming room intended to be a place where students can unwind by watching livestreams of animals on camera, playing games or printing out pages to color. Available on the school's website, the room -- which, without a required login, can be accessed by the public -- will not track who uses the room, but will keep information about how much the room is used.
"Even at my age, I enjoy coloring," Tucker said. "I'd be surprised if [the calming room is] not utilized by both faculty and students alike."
Should a student or staff member test positive for coronavirus or be exposed to someone who has, schools will follow Department of Health guidelines. Students, faculty and staff at Catholic schools also signed a form for this school year acknowledging the risks of attending school during the pandemic, agreeing to adhere to guidelines and release the school from liability associated with the virus.
"I'm not naive to think that there's not going to be changes that we're going to make," Tucker said with regard to the school's policies for handling the virus.
"We've got that foundation down and, bottom line, I think that's what ties it back to our Catholic faith -- it's us not getting caught up in ourselves ... [and] looking at the greater good."
Jones emphasized the values of the Sisters of Mercy, which sponsors Mount St. Mary, and the dedication of teachers to bringing students back to school safely.
"One of the big things that we promote is the intrinsic worth and dignity of each person, and so I think our teachers have really just kind of taken that and run with it," Jones said. "We have some people with apprehension, just with the [coronavirus] situation ... but in the end, I think there is a willingness to get these kids back in the building and to do our very best to make sure that everyone is having the same educational experience, and that we're leaning on each other."
Tucker noted with anticipation that another private school in Conway started school last week, Aug. 5, while St. Joseph commences classes Monday -- a week before public schools open their doors Aug. 24.
"We're slowly waking up, right?" Tucker said. "The schools are coming back to life."
"It's great to have the teachers back in full force ... this is what we do, we do school," he said. "These buildings aren't meant to be vacant, they're meant to be alive. I can't high-five Bulldogs like I normally do, but we'll see them and welcome them back, and then let's see what lies ahead."