Gulfport school leaders considering all options for students in the fall

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Gulfport School District wants to get its students back in the classrooms but in the safest way possible.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Glen East presented a host of ideas for the school board to consider as they craft a very detailed plan.

Some solutions on the table include flipping the school’s athletic calendar, so close contact sports like football or cheer can be done in the spring with it is potentially safer. The board also suggested having synchronized classes, with some students in the classroom and others doing virtual learning.

School leaders say there will be no one-size-fits all approach because students of different ages have different needs.

The final decision strongly depends on what the state department of education mandates, but East says he’s working closely to keep families informed of all the changes.

“We will put a communication plan after (Monday) evening that we will get out to our parents," said East. "And again, there’s still going to be that asterisk there that says this could change at a moment’s notice.”

The Gulfport School Board will start voting on the upcoming school year’s budget and re-opening plan at next month’s meeting.

One possibility school leaders have been looking at for the last couple of years is year-round schooling. However, even if that happens, it’s not something that will be in place for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.

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