TUPELO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT AND COVID-19

Posted by Parents & Kids Guest Writer | Jan 27, 2021

The dominos kept falling. On January 31, 2020, Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency for the nation in regard to the novel Covid-19 virus. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. On that same day, Mississippi had its first confirmed case.  

The next visible domino fell two days later, when President Donald Trump declared Covid-19 a nationwide emergency. Schools began to rethink their calendars, leading to spring breaks being shuffled to allow time to consider next steps and strategies to get ahead of the cascade unfolding before us all.  

Then, while some were on planned or extended spring breaks, on March 19, 2020, Governor Tate Reeves issued a declaration for all schools to be closed until April 27, 2020. By that time, over 4,000 confirmed or presumptive cases existed in Mississippi. Before long, we learned schools would not reopen for the remainder of the spring semester. The following months would be spent with administrators, legislators, medical teams and parents deciding what schooling would be like in the fall. Parents wondered if in-person school would be an option, and whether they would partake in it should it be available.  

Tupelo Public School District (TPSD) — like many districts across the state — contemplated how to do the best for faculty and students while not compromising education and the school experience.  

This fall, enrollment has been down two-percent for the TPSD, but the need for more staff increased.  

“We are proud of our custodians and cleaning procedures as well as the adapting done by our teachers,” Kim Britton, Deputy Superintendent at TPSD, said.  

Britton said the in-school transmission rate has been minimal, with most of the few positive cases in students resulting from contacts outside of the school. As a result, she is certain these strategies will be continued in the future to reduce the potential spread of other illnesses, such as flu and strep.

TPSD has also created other changes, with a high likelihood of staying with measures such as teachers in the elementary school rotating from class to class instead of having the students move to different classes for each subject.Teachers push their carts filled with supplies to each classroom, making for a more efficient, less disruptive approach to this transition.  

According to Britton, this change — along with having just one class at recess at a time — has also resulted in fewer disciplinary problems for 2020.

 “We rely heavily on our school nurses as well,” Britton said. “They have been very valuable.”

The evidence of the mental strain Covid-19 restrictions have placed on students and faculty is not lost on TPSD administrators. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports an estimated 20-percent of students were dealing with anxiety and depression before Covid-19 changed the world. This number has been adjusted higher in some polls. In response to this, training on how to identify and assist with mental health difficulties has been provided to students and teachers.  

“We have brought in therapists, and for those who are identified to be in need of more assistance, small groups are created,” Britton said. TPSD has even implemented yoga classes.  

Covid-19 has done many things, and resulted in many changes. At TPSD, some of these changes are here to stay for even brighter and healthier years to come.

Alicia Stevens , a resident of Pearl River County, is a freelance writer, wife and mother of two who enjoys traveling with her family and friends.

Tupelo Public School District and Covid-19 - Parents & Kids (parentsandkids.com)