ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The Rockwood School District has released a reopening plan that gives students the option of attending school fully from home.
The district said Monday that students have two options to begin the 2020-2021 school year: an at-home option with an online curriculum or a reduced capacity option with in-person learning two days a week.
"While we cannot remove all risk of infection, we will take reasonable steps to protect our students and staff and optimize their health and well-being," the district said.
"We must also consider our students who may be at higher risk due to underlying health conditions and less comfortable with returning to our schools for in-person educational services. We must create structures and processes that support the health and well-being of our staff members who serve our students each day."
The district asked for parent feedback and said the plan may be changed or modified between now and Aug. 24, the first scheduled day of school.
Symptom screening procedures, social distancing and face masks are among the requirements for in-person learning.
The district said 5-day-a-week, in-person learning was considered while it was developing its strategic plan, but the continued spread of COVID-19 took it off the table.
"We have taken steps to create a plan that is realistic, balanced, and sustainable given the feedback of our stakeholders and the guidance from the St. Louis County Department of Public Health," the district said.
For more information, view the district's reopening plan on its website.
On Monday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said most schools would be offering some type of online option and parents would have decisions to make in the coming weeks.
Page encouraged parents to choose virtual options when possible, though he has acknowledged virtual classes are not ideal and access to technology is not evenly distributed across the county.
