MIDLAND, Texas — Some of the preparation activities are the same as every other year: meetings, laminating student name markers and boxing up supplies.
But teachers and administrators at Bynum School have learned this summer that things will look unique starting Monday.
"All of our classrooms will have buckets with soapy water and the staff will use those to wipe down tables when students are changing tables or changing activities or just throughout the day when necessary," Keri St. John, Bynum head of school said.
Masks or shields are required of teachers.
At the beginning of the day, students will be walked from getting their temperatures checked in the car directly to their classrooms by an aid.
Temperatures need to be below 100.
Many viewers have asked where and how the children will eat?
Bynum School in Midland even put microwaves in their hallways so that students can be even more spaced out for lunch.
The school is also working to find more affordable masks with clear plastic mouth cutouts that serve their student's needs.
"Many of our students may have medical issues that would prevent them from knowing if a mask was not conducive to their health or the verbalizations that some of our students have, there's a variety of ways that they communicate and having a mask on is difficult," St. John said.
Administrators and teachers are very optimistic about the start of the fall semester, but they have a plan if things go south.
"If a student in a classroom tests positive then we will close that class, if there are multiple positive cases on a wing, we will close the wing," St. John said.
"We serve a very special population, that many have immune disorders or medical issues, but we also know that when they're not in their routine and they're not in school and they're not getting their education, that's very difficult," St. John said.
That's why Bynum School of Midland is doing their very best to start the school year strong and finish it the same way.