In the brave new world of COVID-19, Wood County school districts are moving ahead with plans for an on-time reopening of classes starting next week.

The schools were closed in mid-March under state orders in an effort to help stem the spread of the virus.

They did not reopen for the remainder of the spring semester and switched to a learning model that included virtual, for those with equipment and connections to work online, and pickup packets for the rest.

All sports and academic and music competitions were also called off for the school year.

Monday the local schools welcomed back students participating in football, volleyball and cross country for summer workouts.

Full marching band drills were postponed by the University Interscholastic League until Sept. 7.

Classes resume on Thursday, Aug. 13 for Mineola, Alba-Golden and Yantis ISDs and Monday, Aug. 17 for Quitman ISD.

All the schools have adopted similar protocols for the reopening of school buildings that include self-screening, temperature checks and sanitizing stations, including those who ride buses. Parents are being encouraged to help with social distancing on buses by driving as many students as possible to campuses.

Districts have also been polling parents to see how many students are opting for on-campus versus virtual school.

With nearly two-thirds of Mineola students having completed registration, more than 80% had opted for in-person schooling. The figure was 77% for Alba-Golden.

Once a decision is made for virtual school, it must be maintained through the grading period. However students who enroll in on-campus learning may opt out during the grading period.

Parents should view all the reopening protocols on the websites of their respective school districts, as they are quite lengthy, including who must wear face coverings and when.

Area schools also chose to disallow any students who opt for virtual learning from participating in extracurricular activities. That choice was left to the individual school districts.