LOUISVILLE, Ky. — JCPS held a virtual town hall Thursday to discuss their reopening plan, and JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said there was a lot of work done in order to maximize safety.

“We can’t wait to see our faculty, staff and students. All the educators got into this profession so we can work on a daily basis with our students and see them face to face,” Pollio said.

As students wait at the bus stop they should social distance. Parents and guardians will have to attest that their student doesn’t have a temperature greater than 100.4 or have any COVID-19 symptoms before arriving at the bus stop.

As students board the bus they'll have to continue to wear a mask. A mask will be provided if they don’t have one. Each student will have an assigned seat to improve contact tracing if a student becomes ill.

Windows will be open weather permitting and masks will be kept on during the entire ride to school. Hand sanitizer will be available on each school bus and every bus will be sanitized after each run.

“We can show you what in person school will look like when we open our doors here at JCPS. We worked so hard on these plans,” Pollio said.

Arriving at school, every student and staff member will have their temperature checked before entering the school building. Inside, masks will continue to cover the nose and mouth and everyone will see reminders to social distance with markings on the hallway floors and signs on the walls.

No large groups will be allowed to congregate in the hallways. Hand sanitizer will be located throughout the building including each classroom and students will be given ample opportunities to wash their hands during the day.

In classrooms, students will have assigned seats and desks and tables will be arranged to support safety guidelines. Students will be encouraged to stay in their seats. Masks will continue to be worn by both the students and the teacher.

For breakfast and lunch, students will go to the cafeteria and walk through the food service line. JCPS nutrition services staff members will be wearing masks and gloves as they serve meals to students. Some schools will have enough room to have all students eat in the cafeteria and still maintain proper social distancing. Others may have children eating in other areas like outside, in the gymnasium or open classrooms.

As students leave the building for the day, they’ll continue to follow the same health and safety guidelines: keeping on their masks, going to their school bus and sitting on their assigned seat. With no one in the building, custodial staff members can clean and sanitize the school over night preparing for another day of in-person learning.

Dr. Pollio said large districts have a challenge but he’s confident JCPS students and teachers can rise to meet it safely.

“We know we got this. We know we can implement successfully and safely these plans and there is no doubt that safety comes first but once again we are excited to do this and open our doors.”

Families will have the choice to either resume in-person learning or NTI.