The administration of Marshall Public Schools has received several requests for information concerning returning to school on August 24 and how the district will handle the remnants of the COVID crisis.
A release from Superintendent Dr. Carol Maher says “Currently, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has informed districts there are no plans to give credit for alternative methods in instruction as there were this past school year. In other words and in most cases, the district will not receive state credit for student attendance except for in-seat instruction. All other instruction is on an as-needed, requested, and approved basis. MPS continues to provide distance learning through Acellus and MOCAP, but these are only available by application and approval by school administration. All students are expected to return to school in August, as in years prior to the pandemic.”
Dr. Maher says some of the details of the 2021-22 school year are:
1) The CDC has indicated that for fully vaccinated individuals, masks and social distancing are optional. Any new CDC guidelines issued at the time of the start of school will be reviewed.
2) There will be no COVID-related closures by DESE this year.
3) In-seat school will take place five days a week, with Wednesdays deemed as early-out days when school is dismissed for students at 12:30 p.m.
4) Quarantines will be observed, but only for individuals who were in close contact (three feet) for an extended period of time with an individual who has tested positive.
5) If cases in Saline County begin to rise significantly, MPS may implement an updated plan that best correlates with current needs.
Dr. Maher further clarified in an updated news release.
Dr. Maher says, “In a preceding news release, Marshall Public Schools (MPS) administration made the statement: The CDC has indicated that for fully vaccinated individuals, masks and social distancing are optional. Any new CDC guidelines issued at the time of the start of school will be reviewed. To clarify, it is currently planned that masks and social distancing will be optional for all MPS students, employees, families and guests when school begins on August 24 and for all school activities prior to that date.”
Dr. Maher’s release continued, “As stated, in the case of new CDC guidelines being issued in the future, the district will review those and also those from our local Saline County Health Department. Unless an official announcement is made from MPS, masks and social distancing are considered individual decisions and are optional for all.”