JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown School Board got its final update on preparations for the start of the new school year Tuesday night.
School Superintendent Kevin Whitaker told the board that school staff and faculty have been working hard to ensure the district is ready for incoming students, starting next Tuesday.
“They’ve done quite a bit of work early on with hygiene, mask wearing, procedures and protocols for signing in, and all the new stuff that everyone is trying to get used to as we try this new and very different school year,” Whitaker said. “We’re ready. We’re ready for kids and we’re excited for kids. Our business is about kids and they are the only component missing right now.”
Whitaker also thanked the school principals who’ve been working with their staff to prepare each individual school in the district, as well as all the custodial and maintenance employees who’ve taken on the additional work of cleaning and sanitizing the schools.
During the previous board meeting two weeks earlier, some parents had shown up to voice their concerns about the district’s reopening plan and how it was being communicated with families in the district. However, last night, no one showed up to speak before the board, which school board president Paul Abbott says is an indication that the lines of communication are working.
“I don’t know necessarily that questions or concerns have been laid to rest, but I think the communication has been out there so they know what the plan is for their student. I think we have an understanding community that knows we are going to continue to look at how we’re doing things. The one thing I’ve said no matter what with Dr. Whitaker and his entire staff, our teachers and our faculty is we’re always going to do what we believe to be in the best interest of students,” Abbott said. “Really, I truly believe that even the people that come here with suggestions or even have been critical of us, I don’t think they’ve questioned where anybody’s heart is in all this.”
For more specific details about the school district and its reopening plan, tune in to this week’s Community Matters public affairs program on WRFA when we talks with Jamestown school superintendent Kevin Whitaker. Community Matters is broadcast Thursdays at 5 p.m., Fridays at 2 p.m., and Noon on Sundays.
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