Montgomery County, TN – Beginning July 6th, 2020 for high school and July 13th for middle school, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System COVID-19 Update (CMCSS) will begin permitting limited in-person athletic practices and conditioning on campuses with modifications and protocols for the health and safety of students, employees, and the community.
The plan was developed by the District Programs and Activities Coordinator in collaboration with local and regional athletic directors and coaches with input from the district’s Communicable Disease Team.
Guidance from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) as well as from the Tennessee Pledge Access Guidelines for Noncontact Sports and the CDC were taken into consideration.
Some of the modifications and protocols in the plan include:
- Required parent/guardian consent for students to participate
- Daily temperature checks and COVID-19 Coronavirus symptom evaluations for students and employees
- Social distancing guidelines
- Limiting groups to no more than 10 people at a time (including both coaches and athletes)
- Members of workout groups will remain the same each day to aid in contact tracing
- Staggered work out times
- Students and employees must bring their own water bottles
- Increased equipment and facility sanitization and personal hygiene expectations
- No spectators
Athletic directors and coaches at each school will be responsible for adhering to the plan. Workouts will be on a voluntary basis. No athlete or coach will feel pressure to participate in or experience any repercussions for not attending any on-site, face-to-face workouts. Accommodations, including virtual options, will be provided for families who do not feel comfortable with students returning to in-person practices at this time.
Coaches will be sharing more information with their student-athletes over the next few days before the TSSAA sanctioned dead period between June 22nd and July 5th. The district will develop guidance regarding the resumption of other typical late-summer activities such as performing arts, JROTC, and extracurriculars and communicate those in the coming weeks.
CMCSS leadership will share more with stakeholders next week about the plans for reopening schools in August. The CMCSS School Board approved a first half day on August 11th for a “soft opening” with an additional half day on August 12th.
The CMCSS Communicable Disease Team is continuing to review the latest guidance, data, and research as it prepares a strategic plan for a continuum of options: traditional (in-person) classes, virtual instructional delivery, and hybrid approaches. These plans will ensure that the district is prepared to continue providing a high-quality education for all students no matter the circumstances.
An essential consideration as CMCSS develops reopening plans is to provide students and parents/guardians with options as there are varying degrees of comfortability and underlying health conditions amongst stakeholders in regards to returning to in-person settings during the pandemic. The district has over 3,300 students with immunodeficiencies and around 500 employees over the age of 60.
The most recent survey results show that, based on current conditions, around 54% of parents/guardians and 60% of employees prefer returning to a traditional, in-person setting in the fall. The district is engaging stakeholder feedback and will continue to do so throughout the summer.
