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By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

Shelby County Schools officials are working on plans for the 2020-2021 school year as they wait for more guidance from state leaders amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

SCS has released a “Return to School” survey to gauge parents’ comfort level with their students returning to school campuses in person versus utilizing a virtual learning option, Public Relations and Community Education Supervisor Cindy Warner said.

“We are still collecting responses and analyzing the data,” Warner said. “Once we have that information completed, we will want to report it to our board members before we make it public.”

The survey questions include what grade the student is entering for the 2020-2021 school year, what school the student is associated with, if the parent feels comfortable with his/her student returning to a school campus in August and if the parent is interested in a full virtual option through Shelby County Schools for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We are also awaiting guidance from the state superintendent regarding what the expectations, procedures and protocols will be when we start back to school,” Warner said. “We are expecting that guidance by the end of next week. Having a virtual eLearning option for students and parents who are not ready to return to campus is something that we anticipate will be part of that recommended guidance.”

The survey listed the following notes about the eLearning option:

• Content will be more rigorous than in Spring 2020.
• Students must participate in classes and complete assigned work.
• Assignments will be graded.

SCS officials will share updates as plans for the next school year are confirmed, Warner said.

The link to the Return to School Parent Survey is available at Shelbyed.k12.al.us and on the Shelby County Schools social media pages.