Bay-Waveland pushes school start to September because of COVID pandemic
CORRECTION: Jackson Public Schools in Mississippi’s capital city announced its school year will be 100% virtual for the fall semester. An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the district as Jackson County. The Sun Herald apologizes for the error.
The Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District has pushed back the start of classes a month, setting Sept. 8 as the new start date.
The BWSD Board of Trustees voted 5-0 to delay the opening of school from its original start date of Aug. 7.
The school district said it relied on the guidance of state health experts on the COVID-19 pandemic while making the decision.
“The district believes this decision is in the best interest of the health and safety of all students and staff,” the district said in a statement.
The delay of the first day of classes will bring some changes to the 2020-21 school calendar, but those changes will be made public at a later date.
“The situation we are currently working with is quite fluid and all plans are subject to changed based on current circumstances,” superintendent Sandra Reed said in a statement. “I do not take these decisions lightly but I am committed to the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff. I think this is one step we can take to ensure when our children return to school they can stay in school.”
Bay High’s football season is set to start on Sept. 4, but the delay in the resumption of classes won’t impact fall sports.
So far, the district is the only one in south Mississippi to postpone the start of the school year. Jackson Public Schools has said its fall semester will be entirely virtual with no in-person classes, and Lamar County Public Schools delayed its start until mid-August.
Superintendent John Strycker of Jackson County Public Schools previously told the Sun Herald he hoped Gov. Tate Reeves would provide clarity on whether schools should postpone the start of the year.
Mississippi currently has one of the country’s highest COVID-19 growth rates. In recent days, South Mississippi counties have logged triple-digit new case numbers.
Over the weekend, a state pediatricians’ group urged school districts to delay the start of school until cases are trending downward. The group also asked for a statewide mask mandate to help reduce transmission so that students can more quickly return to school safely.
Bay-Waveland had previously announced that it would offer a traditional option alongside virtual learning for any family that wants to participate. That plan is unchanged.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 2:13 PM.
