Butte’s phase two reopening its public schools this fall will involve everyone wearing masks and keeping students in cohorts or with the same small group of students throughout the day.
“Our phase two really concentrates on the philosophy of cohorts, where students remain within a cohort of less than 50, so it’s easier to track if there is a positive case reported,” said Butte Superintendent Judy Jonart.
The goal is to make sure no students get the coronavirus. To do this, the school will require staff, teachers, and students from all grade levels to wear masks.
“If we do our face masks if we do our social distancing as much as possible, and that we keep kids in cohorts, we should be able to do this as best as we possibly can and the safest way possible,” said Jonart.
Students will stay in one classroom, where they will also eat breakfast and lunch, to avoid walking the halls.
“So you don’t transition seven times and six times and eight times a day, which is huge because you don’t want 1,200 students in that hallway at Butte High School every hour,” said Jonart.
Now plans to open the public schools here in Butte are subject to change, and the school board will hold a meeting on it later this month to determine if all systems are a go.
“It can change depending upon the virus, you know, we’re all subject to what that virus is doing,” said Jonart.
