OKEMOS - Okemos Public Schools will have almost all of their students back inside the classroom by March 15.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been vocal about wanting districts statewide to offer some sort of in-person learning option by March 1.

“The thing we want to maintain is that continued flexibility,” said Okemos Public Schools Assistant Superintendent to Instruction, Stacy Bailey. “As new guidance or safety direction is given, we want to be able to adjust and continue providing the best educational experience for all students.”

On March 8, the district will be welcoming students with specialized instructional needs back. During this week, the district will also be offering tours to new students or students who are coming back to new buildings.

“We wanted to give them some time prior to starting in-person for them to come in and again look at where their classes are, look at the building layout and have some of those first-time experiences which we normally do in a normal year in August,” said Bailey.

On March 15, the remaining students K-12 will go back to in-person learning with new safety protocols in place that include mandatory masking, additional signage and air filters.

“Some of our programs they’ll be some additional protocols,” said Bailey. “Our students in band, we have essentially facemasks for the instruments, and so they’ll be different things that might be unique to different levels and different programs.”

The transition is also supporting teachers by allowing teachers in the district that want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine more time to start the vaccination process before returning to the classroom.