Utah school district’s schedule to mix class, home learning

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Salt Lake County school board approved a schedule for reopening that will include a four-day week of class time in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The board of the Jordan School District voted to require students to be in classrooms Monday through Thursday and then follow a plan of at-home, alternative learning each Friday, KUTV-TV reported Monday.

The schedule is only for the fall semester, with a reappraisal of the situation planned at a later date, officials said.

Parents who are not comfortable sending their children back into school buildings will have an option for a curriculum conducted completely online.

An estimated 15,000 parents and more than 3,000 employees were polled on five school options.

The board selected the most popular option with employees, which was the second-most popular among parents who were surveyed.

Masks will be encouraged but not required inside school buildings.

Buses will carry the same number of students as they did before the coronavirus outbreak, but masks will be encouraged.

“We wish we could have come up with a plan that could have met everyone’s needs. We feel like we have a great option,” board President Bryce Dunford said.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.