Lexington County school officials are weighing the safest ways for students to return this year.

Public health authorities recommend schools maintain 6 feet social distancing in classrooms, hallways and cafeterias.

This will be difficult in many crowded school buildings.

Busing and feeding will present scheduling challenges, too.

To help with these high-stakes decisions, Education Week spoke to more than a dozen experts.

Health and education leaders offered 6 potential strategies.

1. Phased Reopening.

Schools bring back only some students at 1st to avoid crowding and make it easier to adhere to social distancing.

For instance, schools could welcome back only 1 to 2 grades, while students in other grades continue to learn remotely.

As conditions improve, schools gradually welcome more students until they reach full capacity.

2. Multi-Track System

1 group of students attend Mondays and Wednesdays, another Tuesdays and Thursdays, and everybody stays home Fridays.

3. Staggered Schedules

 Half the students attend in the morning while the other half attend in the afternoon.

Schools group students alphabetically to keep siblings on the same schedule.

4. Bubble Strategy

Students remain in a single classroom all day, even for lunch.

If needed, teachers rotate into the classroom while the students stay put.

5. Cyclical Lockdown Strategy

School buildings regularly alternate between being open and closed.

Students attend school a full week, followed by 2 weeks of remote learning at home.

Another version: Students come to school Monday through Thursday, and then learn from home on Friday and all days the following week.

6. Year-Round Schedule

1 group of students attends school for 9 weeks while the other participate in remote learning.

The groups rotate at the end of each 9 weeks.

Breaks would be more frequent, but shorter than the traditional 10-week summer vacation.

The Chronicle will keep parents updated as school officials decide which ways seem safest.