As Utah school districts continue to make plans about holding school during the pandemic, teachers are preparing to implement safety precautions.
“I thought, I’ll just start a GoFundMe and see if anybody wants to donate 25 bucks here and there to maybe buy some tables or some beanbags, or some wipeable, easy things that can be spread out so that we’re not so close," Jenna Flood said.
Flood teaches Junior High French and U.S History classes in Utah County. Last week, she started an online fundraiser to pay for non-traditional seating options that will better allow for social distancing in her classroom. Her classes are typically large and she wants to help students feel more at ease as they return.
“I started looking at blended type learning and I came across a philosophy of this flexible seating which allows students to kind of have a little bit of choice in the classroom. And also because it’s not traditional, they’re very much more spread out," she said.
The non-traditional options she is fundraising for include beanbags, chairs and stools that will be easier to spread around the room than standard side-by-side desks are.
According to Flood, the GoFundMe page she created has received a lot of support from former students and parents. She said it is important to her to do what she can in her individual classroom to mitigate the spread of the virus.
When school begins next month, Flood may be teaching in both face-to-face and online classes.
