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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

Chilton County Schools is asking for input from students’ parents and guardians in preparing for the start of school.

The survey asks parents if they would prefer to have their student attend traditional in-person classes, an online option through the student’s school or attending the virtual academy (for ninth-12th grades).

Superintendent Jason Griffin said filling out the survey is not committing to this option but merely stating a preference.

The plan is to allow flexibility.

The survey can be accessed at https://forms.gle/cwseNjfWJPqXPhsLA.

“We are going to take the data of the interest of the parents and guardians to look and see what our percentages at each school look like,” Griffin said.

He said this will allow the schools to see how many parents are interested in the online option or in-person.

“We are going to have our plan in place hopefully by the middle of July, so that parents and guardians can make specific decisions about what they want to do,” Griffin said. “Because they have specific questions about what’s lunch going to look like, what about buses, drop off and pick up. A lot of those things are going to be different at every school. They will be able to get the answers they need to those specific questions.”

The school system will formulate its plan around requirements and recommendations from the state and will provide recommendations to administrators at each school. Administrators will make decisions to implement safety precautions.

One of the main things still being worked out is transportation of students.

Griffin said the school system wants to be flexible and give students the option to change their minds even after the school year starts.

“It will be their choice,” Griffin said. “… We are not going to require anyone to come to school if they don’t want to. They can do it online in some form or fashion.”

Unlike when school went to online learning because of COVID-19, every option will require work to be completed, and it will be graded.

Those with questions should contact their student’s principal after the school system has given its recommendations in July.

School is set to start on Aug. 6, but as planning continues this date may be pushed back to later in August to give teachers time to train on online classroom platforms.

Griffin said any delay would be “to give our teachers enough training to be comfortable with online instruction.”

The online option will utilize an online curriculum that the state board of education has purchased. Griffin said if a change to the school start date is made it would be done at the July 7 special called meeting of the Chilton County Board of Education.