Schools ask parents, community to review preparedness plans

REGION — With a statewide deadline of Aug. 15 looming to submit final documents, school districts in both Antrim and Kalkaska County are putting finishing touches on comprehensive plans to open schools to students safely in September, despite the still looming threat of COVID-19.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state board of education released guidelines on June 30 on how Michigan's K-12 schools should reopen in the fall.

The plan, which was released by Whitmer and her COVID-19 Task Force on Education Return to School Advisory Council, envisions several scenarios for schools to re-open: Schools opening for in-person instruction with minimal required safety protocols in Phase 6, which would be basically a normal scenario; schools opening for in-person instruction with moderate required safety protocols in Phase 5, which both Antrim and Kalkaska County are categorized within; as well as more stringent required safety protocols for schools located in Phase 4 areas, and, last, school buildings remaining closed with all instruction conducted remotely.  .

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