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ANDERSON COUNTY, SC (WSPA)– The virus will not stop classes at some career and technology schools in the Upstate. Students will still have hands on experiences, but with a twist.
COVID-19 has stopped many things, but it will not pause the 20 programs at the Anderson Institute of Technology.
“The only difference will be, they will have a mask on and the teachers will have greater protection,” said Dr. Bob Couch, Executive Director, Anderson Institute of Technology.
The show will go on for the school that serves students in Anderson School Districts Three, Four, and Five. Everyone will wear masks, sanitize, and get their temperatures checked everyday at the door.
“And our plan is to have basically three points of entry to the facility, and wherever their program is located, if they’re riding a bus, the bus will stop in that area,” said Dr. Couch.
Dr. Couch said most labs are large enough to social distance. Classes like welding, engineering, and health sciences will alter activities for safety.
“It will be different. There will be a lot of activities that we normally would do that we won’t get to do this school year because of social distancing, but we’ve been preparing ways to try to keep it as hands on as we can to make it safe for the students,” said Kerry Rankin, Health Science teacher at AIT.
“If we’re in close distance we will wear the halos, the hoods, the face shields to add a layer of protection. If we’re working with any equipment, students and staff will also wear gloves,” Rankin said.
Teachers have a morning class and an afternoon class, and there will be intense cleaning in the middle of the day.
“In between classes there will be deep cleaning. All of the surfaces will be cleaned. Any items that were used will be cleaned before the next group of students come in,” Rankin said.
If students in the Virtual Academy chooses to attend their course in-person, they will be able to from a special area within the classroom.
“They have an assigned seat if you will, here at the facility,” Dr. Couch said.
For things like clinical classes, a plan is in the works to make sure they can still happen.
“We’re having discussions right now at the state level and local level facilities as to whether or not we’ll be able to have students in the actual worksite this semester, if not, they will practice that under the assigned teacher at the Center here,” Dr. Couch said.
School staff said bottom line, they will do everything they can to ensure students receive top-notch education and have protection at the same time.
“I think the school has done the best job they can. We can’t be 110% certain about anything, but we can be certain that we have done the best job that we can and as instructors. We will do the best job that we can to protect anybody that comes into our classroom,” Rankin added.
Students will start school at AIT on September 8th. For more information about the school year, visit Anderson Institute of Technology’s website.
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