St. Bernadette Catholic School shares its after care plan

August 13, 2020

by Lawrence Chatagnier

Elise Leboeuf Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier

Elise Leboeuf, assistant principal of St. Bernadette Catholic School in Houma, explains how the school is handling its after-care program in accordance with the guidelines set forth due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is a large number of students taking part in the school’s after care program. “We have over 200 students enrolled in after care this school year. What we have done is hire additional staff with the CARES funding that was made available to us so that we can keep the number of students at 24 plus the teacher so that they are able to maintain social distancing requirements.”

The school is trying to make it easier on the parents by placing family members in the same room so that pick up time is more convenient. “During after care, snacks are provided by the cafeteria. There is a set assigned homework time so that all students are working on homework at the same time to make sure it’s quiet and all kids are able to focus on their work. Afterward they can read, sometimes we put movies on, or they can go outside to play as long as they practice social distancing.”

The janitors on duty will be continually cleaning and disinfecting the rooms with foggers between dismissal and after care, and then again after the after-care sessions making sure that the school’s environment is safe for the start of the next school day.