Tulsa Public Schools Board discusses 2020-2021 school calendar options

(TULSA, Okla.) During the second of two special Board meetings focused on 2020-2021 school year planning, the Tulsa Board of Education discussed three options for the 2020-2021 school calendar. The Board is expected to consider and take any necessary action on the 2020-2021 calendar at a special meeting on Monday, June 29. “We will teach and learn together in person as much as possible next year based on current guidance from the Tulsa Health Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Superintendent Deborah A. Gist. “Our focus is on keeping students and teachers safe, which means planning for the flexibility we may need given continued rates of COVID-19 infection in our city.” The calendar options that the Board reviewed include: 1. Maintain current calendar · Start Date: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020 · End Date: Friday, May 21, 2021 · Acceleration options: Limited acceleration options 2. Introduce a more flexible calendar · Start Date: Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 · End Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 · Acceleration options: 6 intersessions (including ½ weeks) 3. Introduce a more flexible calendar with a later start and longer year · Start Date: Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 · End Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 · Acceleration options: 6 intersessions (including ½ weeks) While the Board of Education would approve any changes to the 2020-2021 school year calendar, the district is planning for a range of scheduling options that would be implemented as needed based on recommendations from local health professionals. Gist said: “Regardless of which calendar we use, we’re planning for three types of student and teacher schedules: learning in-person, a mix of in-person and distance learning, and distance-only learning. We all want to be fully in-person in the fall, but rates of COVID-19 infection are changing so rapidly, we have a responsibility to plan for the possibility of a return to distance learning to keep our community safe.” The district also plans to offer a virtual-only school option for students and families who are at high-risk for infection or who would prefer to keep their children home. The decision about which type of schedule students and teachers will use will be finalized in early August. Gist said: “We’re continuing to work closely with the Tulsa Health Department, and we will look to Dr. Dart and his team for guidance about whether we can safely return to in-person learning.” The next special meeting of the Board of Education related to 2020-2021 re-entry planning will take place on Monday, June 29 at 5 p.m. by videoconference. Members of the public can access streaming video of the meeting at www.tulsaschools.org/board. Visit www.tulsaschools.org/back2school for more information about planning for the 2020-2021 school year.