COLUMBUS, Ohio — The biggest school district in the state is heading back to school with safety top of mind.
Columbus City Schools announced Tuesday that 20 of its schools will begin the year learning remotely, but not because of the pandemic. A heat wave sweeping through the state has caused concern for school officials, who say not all of their classrooms have air conditioning.
Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon discussed safety ahead of the upcoming school year with 10TV’s Karina Nova on Wednesday, and how the district plans to keep kids protected from COVID-19 when they do return to the classroom.
Roughly 46,000 students will return to learning Thursday with CCS. Dr. Dixon says the district is prepared for when they do.
“The mitigation strategies that we will have in place this year are the same ones we had last year: social distancing, um, water bottles, we want our students to make sure they have their masks,” said Dr. Dixon, adding all students and staff must wear masks when inside school buildings.
Additionally, Dr. Dixon said visitors will be limited at school buildings. Those who do visit must adhere to the district’s guidelines.
“Again, we want our students to be safe. We hope that if our parents feel comfortable with their students being vaccinated if they’re 12 or older, they have the option to be vaccinated, and if our staff -- if you're eligible to be vaccinated, we want all our staff members to be vaccinated,” said Dr. Dixon.
In terms of the students at 20 schools who will begin the year learning from home, CCS says it anticipates those schools will be opened and operating by Aug. 30.
Along with not all schools being equipped with air conditioning, Dr. Dixon cited ventilation concerns as reason for postponing in-person learning at some schools.
“It’s going to be extremely hot for the remainder of the week and with not having proper air flow and proper ventilation for those staff and students, we did not want to take that risk,” said Dr. Dixon.
Below, watch a previous interview with 10TV's Yolanda Harris and Dr. Dixon: