RE-ENTRY PLAN (Click for pDF VERSION)
There was a great deal of uncertainty with the COVID crisis. Families were anxious about school, yet we opened and it has gone wonderfully well - despite the incredible obstacles.
When did you open?
We opened on August 24 for 1st through 12th and August 25th for kindergarten.
So you are physically open with a long distance learning option?
Yes. Families a choice: in-school learning with social distancing or at-home learning with a live feed into the classroom. It has worked well
How do you 'social distance' in a school?
With lots of planning and a measuring tape! This is a unique problem because schools are designed to be space efficient.
- So have six foot spacing between students to the greatest extent possible. This limits the number of students in a classroom under normal operating conditions.
- We feel that with our custom plexiglass partitions and face shields, it is working well.
- Picture 'see-through plexiglass' barriers 4 by 3 feet in between two adjacent desks, which are separated from other desks by six feet.
- Kindergarten desks have see-through barriers to protect students. (We have a photo of the prototype on the "front page" feed.)
To Keep Everyone Healthy
- There are plexiglass barriers in the classrooms (some from ceiling/some on the desks)
- We provide face shields for classroom students.
- The policy is mandatory masks when in hallways (students provide).
- We've banned all non-students in the building - to cut down on hallway traffic
- There is an accessible auxiliary school office by Door 3 with a sick room.
- In grades 7-12, the teachers move to the students rather than the normal SOP (standard operating procedure) of students in the hallways
- Health checks... students and teachers will be subject to temperature screenings upon entering.
- No large groups... We will be limiting student interaction in large groups such as lunch (eat in classroom), chapel (video) and choir. Groups larger than 32-33 use the auditorium to facilitate the distancing requirement.
- Suspension of field trips until we can get back to our normal - and crazy- field trip schedule.
What happens if a student comes down with COVID?
- That student quarantines and goes on-line for the CDC approved period of time.
- If there is a class outbreak - the class goes on-line until everyone is completely healthy.
What about DAYCARE?
We are offering a slimmed-down version of daycare for parents who need this service.