As of July 6, student athletes across Indiana have been returning to campus for summer practices.
Students have been unable to utilize facilities since schools closed in March due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In June, State Superintendent of Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick and the Indiana Department of Education released a packet of guidelines and restrictions concerning re-entry plans for both summer activities and the 2020-21 school year.
Following those guidelines, and in cooperation with the IHSAA, Crawfordsville Athletic Director Bryce Barton updated the district’s board of trustees during a public meeting Thursday at Crawfordsville Middle School on how the plan has been executed so far.
“Right now our athletes can be on campus for 15 hours a week — that applies to this week and next week, and they’re masked up from the time they get out of their vehicle until they start exercising,” Barton said. “Once they start exercising, they can take their masks off. We have precautions in place.”
Keeping groups separate from one another has been key, he added, so if a positive case is discovered contact tracing will be more easily accomplished.
“We can pinpoint exactly who was in that group and when,” Barton said. “That should help the health department. Coaches are also cleaning equipment after workouts.”
Plans to tackle water bottle concerns were also addressed.
“Kids have to bring their own water bottles to practice, and the maintenance department is helping put together some water coolers so we can avoid kids drinking from other water bottles or contaminating coolers, and coaches will have the proper (personal protection equipment) when they put water in jugs,” Barton said. “Locker rooms are not allowed to be used, and once they are used we’ll be at 50-percent capacity to help social distancing.”
It took a few days for the coaches and athletes to get used to the new guidelines, he said, but have responded well.
Board member Susan Albrecht mentioned collegiate-level COVID-19 precautions in canceled or reduced seasons.
“Hopefully that will help them understand that if they don’t comply, it’s going to be a disaster,” she said.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the Journal Review, The Paper of Montgomery County, WIMC 103.9-FM, WCDQ 1063.-FM and WCVL 1550-AM as official media outlets.
• Approved Mishler Dental as the corporation dental service provider, Dr. Scott Douglas as the corporation doctor and Stuart Weliever as the corporate attorney.
• Approved the hire, transfer, termination, resignation or retirement of multiple employees, including: Karly Harper, hired as WCISSC specialist; Janna Starlin, hired as speech language pathologist; Amanda Mitchell, hired as CMS math teacher; Eliselda Salazar Jiminez, hired as aide at Hose Elementary; and Holly Curtis, resignation as Tri-Vo aide.
The next regularly-scheduled public meeting for Crawfordsville schools is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 13 in the LGI Room at Crawfordsville Middle School, 705 Wallace Ave.For more information, call the district administrative office at 765-362-2342.
