HOPE — Some social media posts circulating locally do not accurately reflect current guidelines for public schools regarding Centers for Disease Control, Arkansas Department of Health, or Arkansas Department of Education guidance about re-opening of public schools in Arkansas.
Hope Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart said much of the information circulating on Facebook posts locally is not current or official.
“Some of it may be old CDC guidelines; but, it is not the current guidelines the Arkansas Department of Health or the Arkansas Department of Education have expressed to us,” Dr. Hart said. “Right now, there are no new guidelines that have been passed down.”
He said the re-entry of the HPS into normal operations in the fall or post COVID-19 period is in the planning stages.
“Everything has happened so fast and things are changing rapidly; so, we need to respond rapidly,” Hart said.
He announced the formation of an HPS task force which will develop a re-entry plan for the district by July 1 which will be based upon current and official CDC, ADH, and ADE guidance.
“Our goal is to take the state guidelines, when they are provided to us, and tailor them to our plan that fits our district, our students, and our families,” Hart said.
He said the working group will include HPS administrators, teachers, parents, and support staff, local health officials, and emergency management professionals.
“As to guidance from the Hope Public Schools, anything we put out will have the HPS logo on it and my name,” Hart said.