PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. (THV11) -- Weāre only months away from the start of a new school year and Arkansas school leaders are working to figure out the best way to educate our students.
Several Arkansas school districts are surveying parents to find out what type of instruction theyād feel comfortable with.
One option is having āblendedā on-site classes, which will implement online learning.
Another option is virtual instruction.
Christian Applingās 1st grader attends Bauxite Public Schools.
āI'm hoping he can at least stay in school, like for most of the year, so he can have a social experience, like meet friends and stuff like that," Appling said.
She feels on-site instruction would be best for her son.
āKids under like 10, I think, donāt have to wear a mask, so mine wonāt be wearing a mask. But theyāre keeping them six feet apart and theyāre pretty much staying in their rooms," Appling said.
Hannah Knox has a 2nd grader in the Little Rock School District and sheās not okay with a note sent out by the district to pick an option by June 29.
āWe had a very short time to figure out if we wanted to do the virtual or if we wanted to do the school in-person,ā Knox said.
Knox still has lots of questions she wants to be answered before she makes a decision, but sheās leaning toward virtual instruction.
āAre they going to take temperatures and how many kids are going to be in the classroom per class? Because they didnāt give any specifics about that,ā Knox said.
The Pulaski County Special School District superintendent said figuring out whatās next will be an ongoing conversation.
āWe have about 4,000 responses right now from a survey we sent out yesterday," Charles McNulty said. "Weāll take that information, weāre meeting with a community task force made up of civic leaders, teachers, parents, some of our amazing health professionals -- especially experts in infectious disease. Weāll do that next week and then we should have a recommendation to the board the following week and be ready to go.ā