Principals in Hanover have raised concerns that the configuration of school plants may hamstring attempts to conform to COVID-19 health protocols, with six-foot social-distancing stipulations the biggest challenge for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year in September.
Jasmin Johnson, the principal of Bethel Primary School, told The Gleaner that the concerns in Hanover were not unique to that parish as many schools across the island were facing similar problems.
Fania Davis, principal of Watford Hill Primary, said that space availability was also a major concern as the infrastructure at her school would make adherence to social-distancing protocols problematic.
Nadine Crossman, principal of Mount Peto Primary and parish association chairman of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, said that her school was currently engaged in logistical planning.
Crossman said that principals would have to be creative in the deployment of janitorial staff and in carving out spaces for handwashing stations, isolation areas, and nursing stations.
