Omaha’s Catholic Schools students will be in class five days a week when they return in August. Some of the larger schools had to come up with ways to keep their students safe from COVID-19.
With the help of the Douglas County Health Department St. Wenceslaus Catholic School believes they have a way to fight COVID-19 in the classroom.
All 900 students will see their teachers through plexiglass. It’s one of the safety measures the school will take to help protect students against the coronavirus.
“With the number of students that we have, it’s difficult to be able to spread out those six feet. So I called the Douglas County Health Department to say, ‘Hey, are there means by which we can shorten that distance?’” St. Wenceslaus Principal Bill Huben told 6 News.
School officials say the plexiglass should provide a barrier against the virus. They will use different types of protective systems, older students will use desks with chairs attached and younger students will use desks not attached to chairs.
“(The Douglas County Health Department) said any type of barrier you can create will cut down on that. We actually had one of our custodians come up with this design that we have that allows us to secure the plexiglass to the desk," Huben says.
“This way we’re able to have 32 students in a classroom every day, all day. And that’s really what our parents are wanting. They’re wanting their kids back into school and be able to learn every day in the environment.”
Desks for older students will be disinfected between classes as they change classrooms during the day. Younger students will remain in their rooms for the entire school day and their desks will be disinfected at the end of the day.
School officials plan to have parents and volunteers to help assemble the plexiglass to the students’ desks.
(Photo: 6 News)