INDIANAPOLIS — We are seeing the safety precautions the state's largest school district is taking as they welcome some students back on Monday. Indianapolis Public Schools is phasing in the reopening beginning with students enrolled in pre-K through the third grade.
At school #46 Kameron Riddle's classroom will be filled with 19 first graders.
"I am so excited to get them back in the classroom and see them every day." Riddle said.
She also admitted feeling very concerned.
"I know there is still cases happening. It's still dangerous," she said. "I think it is very important to have kids back in school."
IPS's plan to keep everyone safe starts even before students get to the front door. They will ride on buses with open windows, one student to a seat, and a monitor on board to enforce the rules.
Parents are expected to check children for COVID-19 symptoms every morning.
Teachers will look for warning signs as well.
Every school has a COVID response team comprised of a nurse, school administrators, social workers, custodians and other staff members.
"That will be 100 percent available walking the hallways and stopping by classrooms, doing everything we can to keep an eye on to see each procedure and process is working," said Principal Allyson Peterkin.
Hallways and stairways are one way to reduce student's face-to-face interactions.
They fill water bottles or drink from new touch less fountains.
Lunch lines will be up and running, but elementary school cafeterias will stay closed. Children will be eating in their classrooms.
"We want to keep the same 15 to 20 students together all day long without much interaction from other students," Peterkin said. "So if one student gets ill, we know the students they spent the day with."
Schools have plans to isolate sick children until parents can take them home and quarantine others who may have been exposed.
Everything that excites teachers about children returning to school keeps them awake at night.
Here's the timeline for reopening the entire IPS district:
- Monday, Oct. 5: Pre-kindergarten through third-grade children return to school.
- Oct. 19: The remaining students will return for in-person learning. But 7th through 12th grade students will be on a hybrid schedule. They'll only be in the classroom two days a week and learning at home for the other three.
- If parents aren't comfortable sending their children back, they can opt for full time e-Learning.