KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Every school district in the country is working on plans right now to safely reopen.
The Hickman Mills School District shared its plans, with a new face leading the district.
Dr. Yaw Obeng is the district's newest superintendent.
Although new to the Hickman Mills School District, Obeng was a superintendent for more than a decade in the Northeast part of the country.
"I'm excited to be part of that kind of change and I'll do whatever I can in terms of pushing that forward. Yes we'll have challenges along the way, continuously, but I mean that's why I'm here," Obeng said. "To try and address the challenges, otherwise you wouldn't need a superintendent. So looking forward to getting some support from community members and our staff and we'll continue to push forward."
As Obeng adjusts to his new role within the district, families, parents and staff are also adjusting.
District leaders said families can choose from two options for their students for the Fall 2020 semester.
Option A would be in-person learning and option B is virtual. For families who chose option A, it wouldn't mean virtual learning goes away.
The option A plan is broken down into three different zones: red, yellow and green.
"We've got a red category which is the hot zone, meaning that we're spiking up and all the triggers in terms of the pandemic is showing that it's accelerating. It's not safe to totally have face-to-face," Obeng said. "We've got the yellow, where things may be flattening out and we're able to do some face-to-face. And of course where everyone wants to get to is the green, where we're doing a lot of brick and mortar instruction."
When students meet for in-person instruction, several safety protocols will be set in place.
"Whenever there's contact, we're going to ensure that there's pre-analysis before you come in, in terms of deep cleaning of any facilities that students and staff will be in contact with," Obeng said. "We're going to make sure all the equipment that's needed, whether it's masks or hand sanitizing, will be provided for those students and staff."
When school starts on Aug. 24, the district said it is highly likely it will start out in the red zone learning phase, based on current data, but they will communicate which of the three zones they're in depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the metro.
Before the start of the school year, however, district leaders are asking voters to pass a $30 million no tax rate change bond on the Aug. 4 ballot.
The bond would allow the district to address some of the issues of its dated buildings.
Hollis + Miller Architects did a district-wide building assessment, laying out the current infrastructure of the dated building.
If the bond passes, it would allow updates on security, roof improvements, restroom renovations and HVAC, playground and athletic field improvements.
Obeng said it is an opportunity to invest in the students who will help contribute to our community.
"It may not be your child, but it may be the person you see at the bank, or that may be the person at the grocery store that's getting that instruction," Obeng said. "Because we know if we don't do that, then they follow a different pathway and then you have criminalization in the community and things like that, so if people want to see the community prosper and grow, then their first investment, I think should be around education."
