‘We are so excited:’ FCPS preps for in-person learning

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – After nearly a year of online learning, kindergarten through second grade Fayette County Public School students return to the classroom next Tuesday.

“We are so excited about welcoming our trailblazers back into our building,” Claudine Barrow said, principal of Rosa Parks Elementary School.

“We do have a plan and we’re excited to have our kids back,” Joshua Williams, principal of Brenda Cowan Elementary School, said.

Both say they’re prepared and excited to welcome the youngest FCPS students back to the classroom.

WTVQ walked through both schools for a closer look at the safety measures, which starts before students enter the building.

“All students will be checked,” Barrow said.

Whether they arrive by bus, car or walk, both principals say all students will have their temperature checked outside and immediately upon entering.

“Normally we do breakfast in the cafeteria,” Williams said. “We’re gonna do breakfast in the classroom.”

That’ll include breakfast, snack time and lunch at both schools to help with social distancing.

“All of the classrooms have individual student materials for them to use,” Barrow said. “All of their supplies are in a bucket.”

Classrooms throughout both schools are armed with plexi-glass dividers and markings on the floors. These only a few of the dozens of safety precautions we saw. Other precautions include water fountains, bathroom stalls and sinks that were even marked not for use.

Despite all of the efforts, everyone says making students comfortable is a very important part.

“We wanted to make sure that we had a learning space that was sterile, but felt like a classroom,” Williams said.

Teachers from both schools say the majority of their students will be back on Tuesday.

“We are so confident that we are ready to have the kids back and know that they’re gonna be back safely,” Callie Little, a first-grade teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary, said.

“I think it’ll give us a better idea on how to help our third through fifth grade when they come back,” Emily Snowden, the first-grade team lead teacher at Brenda Cowan Elementary, said. “We’ll know what things worked, what things didn’t work, and obviously it’ll be ever-changing.”