A recent post from Campus Safety Magazine does a great job of compiling extensive lists of all the considerations K-12 and post-secondary schools face as they get ready to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus as COVID-19 hopefully winds down.

The May 5 post from Campus Safety calls to mind such questions as social distancing in classrooms, dorms, school buses, and other campus locations, classroom sizes, start times and in-person vs. continued remote instruction, how technology can/may be used to check temps and monitor for adherence to social distancing requirements.

Just by way of example, the story provides the following, likely partial, list of considerations:

  • Will class sizes be reduced?
  • Will the layouts of classrooms, cafeterias, student unions, etc. be changed to support social distancing?
  • Will everyone return at the same time, or will they return in phases?
  • Will start times be staggered for different times of the day or days of the week? If so, will more staff need to be hired, or will current staff need to work overtime?
  • California 2020-2021 School Year Could Start in July
  • Will a combination of face-to-face classes and distance learning be adopted?
  • How will transportation be affected? Will fewer students be allowed on school buses? If so, might more school buses be purchased and more drivers hired?
  • How will social distancing be enforced and monitored?
  • Will video surveillance and analytics solutions be adopted to track the level of social distancing among students, parents, and visitors?
  • How will social distancing violators be disciplined?
  • Will college residence hall occupancy be reduced, perhaps allowing students to have single rooms?
  • How will social distancing be enforced at off-campus events?
  • What visitor management and access control policies and equipment will need to be updated so social distancing is fully supported?

The post asks for discussion in the form of considerations the author may have missed. We welcome your thoughts as well. 

What are the major considerations on your mind as you prepare your campus for the eventual return of students, faculty, and staff?

Regardless of when that happens, the life-safety and security experts at Norris are here to help you navigate the changes in policy and technology to make sure all your people are safer and healthier.

Drop us a line today and see how we can help.

What is Norris all about?

Norris, Inc.—a Saco, Maine-based life-safety and security systems integrator with satellite offices in Bangor, Maine; Lee, New Hampshire; and Burlington, Vermont—was founded nearly 40 years ago by two brothers, Brad and Harty Norris.

On February 28, 2020 Norris Inc was acquired by Minuteman Security Technologies Inc.  Minuteman Security Technologies Inc. (Minuteman), headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts and founded in 1998, is a leading provider of enterprise security technology solutions. Minuteman security systems are used by a wide range of organizations throughout the United States. Customers include law enforcement, energy companies, mass transit, large retail chains, academic institutions, public safety agencies, and community hospitals with regional offices from Maine to Illinois.