District talks COVID, transportation, during Facebook Live
Over the last two weeks, school attendance has improved by more than half at Lee County public schools.
School District of Lee County Chief Academic Officer Dr. Jeff Spiro said Tuesday and Wednesday have been the best days of student attendance so far this year.
Still, excused and unexcused absences remains higher than previous years, he said during a Facebook Live session held Wednesday.
Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage said there have been dramatic reductions in terms of the Delta surge and they are happy to see numbers coming down to currently a 11.3 positivity rate for Lee County.
With a mask opt out for students already issued earlier this month, the district will be releasing a decision of whether to lift the mask mandate for teachers and staff. Savage said they still strongly encourage everyone to wear masks as a mitigation effort.
Savage said they are convening a panel of health and academic experts, as they are trying to balance the highest quality of instruction with mitigation efforts. He said the group will be deciding at what levels certain mitigation efforts will be applied.
“It’s incumbent on us to continue to find a way to not disrupt learning,” Savage said of adapting and being as creative as possible. “We will look towards our mitigation efforts and ensure what we do is based on data and expert guidance. We are constantly balancing the risk. There is an academic risk to our children if they have their learning disrupted. We want to eliminate as much risk as we can by prioritizing a functional learning experience for all of our students to keep kids safe and staff.”
The team will look at how to establish three thresholds – worse, moderate and low level of risk. The top threshold will have the most significant levels of mitigation, while the low level will have more relaxed measures.
It will “all be validated and ranked by a panel of experts,” Savage said. “That way we will be prepared no matter what condition change. We will have a plan that everyone knows and prepared in advance and adapt as we go.”
With COVID numbers improving, the district’s pandemic team recently gave guidance that outdoor Homecoming dances are permitted.
There has been no official announcement about prom yet.
The pandemic team is also discussing when volunteers will be allowed back in the school.
“That is part of the conversation. We want to make that happen as soon as possible. We know the importance of the family, school connection and we want to make sure we nurture that,” Spiro said.
Transportation and the shortage of bus drivers was another point of discussion, which Transportation Services Director Roger Lloyd addressed.
He said filling the 100 position vacancies has been an ongoing process for the last 10 or 11 months. The district currently has about 40 routes that are uncovered by a driver and about 60 drivers a day call out sick.
“On an average day, 100 drivers is what we need to get the kids to school in a timely manner,” Lloyd said.
The district has been working with such groups as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Florida SouthWestern State College, as well as the Lee County Tax Collector as, with the spike of COVID, things have gone to appointment only.
“We work through a system where our potential employees take testing in a much quicker manner,” he said. “It is something we have been working diligently on.”
In addition, an incentive began this year to attract new employees by starting them off with a full-time position paying $16.32 an hour with full benefits.
“We pick up the fingerprinting cost, $317. We are willing to get you behind the wheel and trained up,” Lloyd said.