TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — While many schools are working to determine how best to re-open during a pandemic, one Tallahassee charter school is getting ready to open its doors for the first time.
Although still a work in progress, Tallahassee Classical School's new building will soon welcome more than 500 K-8th graders on August 10.
Contractors have been working more over six months to construct everything from classrooms to cafeterias but the entire project has been years in the making.
"We actually delayed a year already with our charter because of temporary facility and space reasoning, and how long it took us to get through the appeals process and the contract process with Leon County schools," said Adrienne Campbell, the principal at Tallahassee Classical School. "Our families have just a strong desire to engage in this classical education."
Starting July 13, Tallahassee Classical School teachers will begin training for the year, with special emphasis on health and safety.
"We're going to be teaching them things like how students should be holding their pen or their pencil, and what types of strokes they make for penmanship or cursive writing, and what our Latin program is going to look like all the way down to let's talk about how kiddos are going to wash their hands and procedures for getting to recess or getting to lunch amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Campbell said.
Each teacher will have an infrared no-touch thermometer and will check each student both at the start of the day and just before lunchtime.
The school building will also be equipped with a special ultraviolet air conditioning system currently being tested by the FDA for its effectiveness against the coronavirus.
"We're thinking very strategically about our processes and procedures, trying to make sure we keep the kids as safe as possible," said Campbell.
The school building can hold up to 778 students and currently, 508 are enrolled.
The difference, along with their larger than average classroom size, is expected to make plenty of room for social distancing.
Campbell says there are still a few available seats for some grade levels, and the school is currently accepting enrollment applications.
