When classes begin in Twin Falls on Wednesday, it'll be the first of Idaho's 10 largest school districts to commence the academic year with fully in-person classes.
Twin Falls School District is opening up for regular schooling with some added precautions because the South Central Public Health District announced the county is in the "Yellow" or "Moderate" risk category.
“If you want to talk about the feelings of anxiety and all that, it is there some," said David Palmer, a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher at South Hills Middle School. About 180 students cycle through his classroom each day, where desks are now all facing the same direction to prevent disease transmission.
Palmer said preparing for this school year has been different — he’s had to worry about having enough hand sanitizer and masks for students.
“The school I teach at has a lot of multigenerational homes, so I want to make sure that kids aren’t taking it home to their grandparents and parents," Palmer said.
In his opinion, the district is doing what it can to prepare students and staff to go back to school safely. For example, face masks are required for students and staff.
During an Idaho State Board of Education meeting earlier this week, the superintendent of Twin Falls School District, Brady Dickinson, said many substitute teachers, who tend to be older or retired, notified the district that they don't want to teach in-person this year.
In addition, the district has received a significant amount of leave requests from teachers in advance of the school year. These requests spiked when the district announced last week it was going to start the school year with all students in classrooms instead of a hybrid model.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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