Danville District 118 students who will be riding school buses to school are going to be screened for the COVID-19 virus as they get on board. Bill Pickett has more….
Assistant Superintendent John Hart says teaching assistants will be on each bus to take the temperature of students and ask questions to screen them for the virus.
Hart says if a student’s temperature registers 100.4 degrees or higher they will be removed from the bus and turned over to their parent. He says the district is asking parents of bus riders to walk their child or children to the bus stop.
And Hart notes the capacity on each bus is going to be restricted to 25 instead of the normal load up to 72. He says that is being done in order to socially distance kids on the buses as a COVID-19 precaution.
The Assistant Danville School Superintendent in charge of Elementary Education says bus riders will have assigned seats – and only children from the same family will be allowed to share a seat. He says buses will be sanitized between each trip. And Hart adds District 118 will be maximizing the number of busses it uses because of the lower capacity.
Each student who passes the screening when they board the bus will be given a sticker to wear. And Hart says once they reach their school ”they will enter the school at a separate entrance” to keep them from mingling with other students.
First Student Transportation supplies the school bus service for the district. First Student says it is still looking to hire more drivers.
The company will train anyone who is interested and passes certain requirements including a background check.
The new school year for District 118 begins Tuesday, September 8th — the day after Labor Day. Hart notes four times as many District 118 students will be participating in remote learning than attending in-person. All students in the district beyond fourth grade will be attending classes through remote learning.
This week some District 118 administrators have been using a school bus to deliver school supplies to some of the remote learners. The district is providing both morning and afternoon sessions for those taking the classes.
