Arkansas Superintendent On Opening Schools In Person Amidst The COVID-19 Pandemic
NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to interim superintendent Keith McGee about the process of starting the school year with in-person teaching in Arkansas’ North Little Rock School District.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Back-to-school season is in full swing as more schools start to open their doors to trainees, teachers and parents. Though numerous school districts are still weighing their alternatives, some schools have actually decided to return back to school totally personally 5 days a week. And there are currently reports of instructors and students being forced to self-quarantine in places like Georgia and Mississippi after they were exposed to COVID-19 just after their first week back.
So how do you open schools securely throughout a pandemic? We turned to one school district that’s dedicated to opening its doors on August24 Keith McGee is the interim superintendent for the North Little Rock School District in Little Rock, Ark., and he joins us now.
Welcome.
KEITH MCGEE: Thank you so much for having me.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what are your plans since today for your school district?
MCGEE: We have 2 alternatives. We are going to integrate mixed learning in the event that we require to go 100%virtual online.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So you’re giving parents essentially two alternatives. How did you arrive at this decision?
MCGEE: We knew that this was an attempting time back in March when we were shut down.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Can you tell me a little bit about your district and why you felt it was necessary to use in-school learning?
MCGEE: Our district is a really varied district. Everyone is not comfortable learning virtually, and some of our trainees feel a lot better coming in and knowing and listening to the instructor and working hand in hand.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I envision you’ve been following what’s been happening in other school districts. Are you fretted about the spread of infection inside the school like we’re seeing in other states in the country?
MCGEE: Like all superintendents, I make sure that we all are wary. However we are positive that we can be able to provide the very best environment that will be a safe and protected for those who wish to discover on-site.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: As things stand now, do you seem like you have the assistance to safely bring instructors and trainees back to the classroom? Do you have the money you need and the equipment you need to do that?
MCGEE: Certainly, we would invite more money and more equipment. And we know that this PPE devices is going to cost, is really costly. We are really appreciative of our guv, Asa Hutchinson, who just recently signed an executive order for $20 million CARES Act financing that will go towards our instructors and personnel who are contaminated or affected by COVID-19 while on the job.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Superintendent McGee, as you understand, it’s not just trainees who are at danger, but instructors and the moms and dads of students who might bring the virus home.
MCGEE: We definitely understand this is life and death in some individuals, however we’re just going to lean and depend and interact with our regional state firm and department of health and our guv’s office to make sure that in case something occurred that we’re going to be all set to stop on-site and go 100%virtual. We all could desire more assistance, however we feeling ready and prepared for our kids to come back to school on the 24.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you have children, sir?
MCGEE: I do. I have a son that’s going to be returning too.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Keith McGee is the interim superintendent for North Little Rock School District in Little Rock, Ark.
Thank you quite.
MCGEE: Thank you.
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