FAIRMONT — Fairmont Area Schools will be up and running in the fall, with schools reopened for in-person learning.

Superintendent Joe Brown shared the news during a school board meeting Wednesday. Administrators have been working on a plan to allow students to return to school while also maintaining safe COVID-19 practices.

“Our plan is to open up school on Sept. 8 with all students and staff back full time,” Brown said. “The planning team met almost every day for four hours per day in the month of July and again this week.”

He added: “We did a survey of students’ parents, and we have 1,650 students registered at our school and we had 1,375 respond as to preferred mode of learning. The vast majority did want in-person learning.”

Brown said 41 percent of respondents had no concerns about students returning to the classroom, while 30 percent were concerned about people being exposed to COVID-19.

“As the administrative team and the principals did the vast majority of work on this, they consulted the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control as well as other sites whose links are available on our school district website,” he said. “The top priority we have is for the health, safety and well-being of our students, staff and community.”

Elementary principals Michelle Rosen and Andy Traetow, along with high school principals Jake Tietje and Alex Schmidt, discussed some of the measures that will be implemented to ensure a safe and productive school year.

“We as a district will be making sure we have good signage up, teaching kids about 6 feet and how far away that is; we will have arrows and markings on the floor, and asking kids to bring a water bottle instead of using drinking fountains,” Rosen said. “They will be in school Monday through Friday, and for parents one of the biggest differences at the elementary school will be dropping off and picking up students. We are going to designate different doors so not all 900 students are going to try and come in two doors or leave through two doors.”

Schmidt shared information on how the high school is going to function.

“We’re going to try to minimize close-contact areas as much as we can and spread those areas out,” he said. “We’ll eliminate unnecessary furniture in classrooms to accommodate spreading out as much as we can, and we’re going to have the same markings on the floor as the elementary school. In the hallways we’re going to designate one-way traffic, so some stairways will be up and some will be down in order to minimize the crossing of paths with students. Masks are going to be required to wear, and face shields are an option as well.”

Traetow said interaction between students will see changes. He noted that lunch and recess times at the elementary school will look different, with students all facing the same direction in order to minimize face-to-face contact. Congregating among students will be curtailed.

Recess will be permitted, but minimized. Restroom use will be metered and water fountain spouts will be capped, with filling stations still available. Additionally, classrooms will be rearranged with maximized open spaces.

Face coverings will be required, with parents and students encouraged to make sure that students each have a mask or two to bring with them, though masks will be made available if students forget.

Additionally, distance learning will still be available for those who are either immuno-compromised or simply still have concerns about returning to school. Those who would like their students to participate in distance learning must contact the schools to make arrangements.

“This is a community effort,” Brown said. “We have to work together as a community regardless of age, regardless of income, regardless of race, regardless of political party. Wear your mask, keep your hands clean and socially distance. If we do those things, we should be able to keep our numbers low.”