>>GERRY: WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT IN MARCH, THE SCHOOL YEAR ABRUPTLY ENDED FOR STUDENTS ACROSS INDIANA E-LEARNING BECAME
THE NORM. NOW, DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE 20-21 SCHOOL YEAR LOOKS
LIKE. THE STATE'S LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT RELEASED ITS PLAN THIS WEEK.
INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT ALEESIA JOHNSON JOINS US NOW TO SHARE THE IS ALWAYS WELCOME TO THE
PROGRAM. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM. >> WE TALKED BEFORE AND AFTER
YOU WERE SELECTED AS SUPERINTENDENT AND YOU DID NOT ANTICIPATE A PANDEMIC IN YOUR FIRST YEAR.
>> THIS WAS NOT IN THE PREDICTIONS AND CERTAINLY NOT IN ANY CLASS I'VE EVER GOTTEN TO TAKE PART OF IS HOW YOU LEAD
THROUGH PANDEMIC, BUT HERE WE FIND OURSELVES. >> GIVE US PERSPECTIVE IF YOU WOULD MASSIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT
31,000 STUDENTS ENORMOUS CHALLENGES IN NORMAL TIMES AND WHAT'S IT LIKE TO WORK THROUGH THIS AND PLAN FOR THE SCHOOL
YEAR I HAD IN THIS PANDEMIC SITUATION? >> SURE, DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TIME I'VE DONE A WEEKLY AND
BIWEEKLY VIDEO TO OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND ONE OF THE KEY THEMES I'VE CONTINUED TO REITERATE AS THE IDEA OF GRACE
AND THE GRACE WE NEED TO GIVE OURSELVES AND OTHERS DURING THIS TIME AND WE ARE NAVIGATING SOMETHING WE'VE NOT NAVIGATED
BEFORE AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GRACEFUL WITH ONE ANOTHER, BUT ALSO AS WE ARE PLANNING THAT WE ARE BEING
FLEXIBLE, RESPONSE OF, KEEPING THE PRIORITY FOCUS ON OUR STUDENTS AND BEING SAFE. >> IN PERSON CLASSES ARE
SCHEDULED TO RESUME AND YOU'VE JUST RELEASED HER COVID-19 PLAN, IF YOU WILL FOR THE YEAR AHEAD. GIVE US AN OVERVIEW IF YOU
WOULD. A LOT OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MASK WEARING BUT WHAT ARE SOME HIGH POINTS OF THIS PLAN.
>> WE KNOW OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS GUIDANCE HAS COME FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, FROM THE DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH, FROM MARION COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MOST RECENTLY AND OBVIOUSLY THE FEDERAL LEVEL THE CDC SO WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
LEVERAGE ALL OF THAT GUIDANCE TO INFORM THE PLAN THAT WE DEVELOPED FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND IPS A COUPLE OF
THOSE HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS AND WE KNOW THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND, AGAIN, COMBATING THE SPREAD
OF COVID-19 AND THAT WILL BE A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF IN THE DISTRICT AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT FALLS
ON SCHOOLS TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN HAVE AT LEAST 3-6 FEATS OF SOCIAL DISTANCING IN OUR BULDINGS AND WITH INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN STUDENTS AND STAFF SO WE WILL IMPLEMENT THAT GUIDELINE AS WELL AND MAKE A NUMBER OF PURCHASES TO SUPPORT SAFETY SO
OUR FIRST ROUND IS A TOUCH LIST WATER FOUNTAINS, FOR EXAMPLE, SO WATER FOUNTAINS YOU TRADITIONALLY HAVE WON'T BE ABLE
TO BE USED SO WE'VE IMPLEMENTED NEW ONES CHILDREN CAN LOU USE FOR WATER BOTTLES ON THAT WILL BE IN PLACE ON THE BUS AND OUR
STUDENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR MASKS AND WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING ADDITIONAL BUS MONITORS WHO WILL
BE ABLE TO RIDE ALONG WITH THE DRIVER TO DO THINGS LIKE ENSURE WE HAVE ASSIGNED FEES FOR STUDENTS ON BUSING AND THAT
STUDENTS ARE SPREADING OUT ON THE BUS AND SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF THE THINGS WE ARE PUTTING IN PLACE TO ENSURE
SAFETY. >> AND THERE'S COST INVOLVED TO THE DISTRICT AND HOW IS THAT BEING ABSORBED OR HANDLED AT THE
PRESENT TIME? >> WE ARE THANKFUL FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL THE CARES ACT WAS PASSED A NUMBER OF WEEKS AGO AND
THAT WILL GIVE ALL DISTRICTS ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING SPECIFIC TO SUPPORTING THE COSTS RELATED TO RESPONDING
TO COVID-19 IN SCHOOLS SO WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND WE KNOW WE HAVE A GENEROUS PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY
IN INDIANAPOLIS AND CERTAINLY THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTIVE THROUGH THESE TIMES AND THE E-LEARNING FUND LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT PUBLIC
SCHOOLS WITH TECHNOLOGY NEEDS AND THE IPS FOUNDATION IS A GREAT PARTNER OF THE DISTRICT AND THEY'VE LAUNCHED IPS
EDUCATION EQUITY FUND WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO SUPPORT OUR RECOVERY EFFORTS AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE BUDGET WE HAVE BEEN MAKING SMART
DECISIONS ABOUT HOW WE LEVERAGE OUR RESOURCES BUT IT'S A VERY COSTLY ENDEAVOR AND WE ARE AT THE 15 MILLION MARK AND COUNTING
AS IT RELATES TO THE PURCHASES FOR STAFF. >> YOU'VE DONE SOME SURVEYS AND SAID THINGS OUT TRYING TO GAUGE
HOW MANY STUDENTS WILL BE COMING BACK TO THE CLASSROOM AND WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO
COME BACK PHYSICALLY COME BACK TO SCHOOL. >> WE KNOW FAMILIES IT'S A VERY SERIOUS IMPORTANT PERSONAL
DECISION AND EACH FAMILY NEEDS TO MAKE ABOUT WHAT'S THE BEST ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR STUDENTS SO WE WILL HAVE A FULLY REMOTE
LEARNING UPWARD AND WE LEARN WHAT IS HAPPENING AT HOME ONLINE AND WE OFFER THE IN PERSON INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOL WITH
THE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROTOCOLS IN PLACE. WE DID GIVE THE SURVEY OF ABOUT 1/3 OF RESPONDENTS SAID IF A
VIRTUAL OPTION WAS OFFERED THEY WOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT SO WE WILL SEE IF THOSE NUMBERS OLD AND THAT WINDOW IS OPEN FOR
FAMILIES TO TELL US WHICH MODEL OF INSTRUCTION THEY WOULD PREFER AND WE WILL BE OPEN FOR THE NEXT WEEK.
>> THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT OVERVIEW YOU HAVE A BIG JOB AT THE
STATE'S LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT