Trending

Coronavirus: Some Vermont schools to hold class in tents

RUTLAND, Vt. — Some Vermont schools are planning to use tents as classrooms to expand outdoor learning space as students return to school in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Outdoor classrooms are being constructed around the country. Every day and every single instructional block,” Patrick Burke, principal at South Burlington High School, told WCAX. “The question isn’t like, ‘Do I want to go outside?’ it’s like, ‘Why should I stay inside?’”

Some school districts across the country are experimenting with using outdoor instruction as a way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and also encourage social interaction, NBC News reported. There are concerns about weather, student safety and accessibility for disabled students. 

"In the spirit of innovation, you can't blame folks for putting everything on the table and certainly giving it their best shot, but I just don't know how realistic it is," Kristi Wilson, the superintendent of the Buckeye Elementary School District in Arizona and president of the School Superintendents Association, told NBC News

In Vermont, the tents are not planned to be a permanent fixture.

"We can take advantage of the window of time that we do have before we do all have to, with some respects, go inside. So, the tents will provide us with some protection from the elements," Burke said. 

A company that rents tents in Vermont bought more of them because of demand after about 50 schools called.

“For the past three or four weeks we’ve had multiple calls every day from schools looking to expand their space to the outdoors,” Mike Lubas, owner of Vermont Tent Company, told WCAX. “I wish we had more inventory, it’s just the craziest thing we’ve gone through.”