Potomac School District Return-to-School Plan 2020-21

(Revised December 14, 2020) (2nd Revision- May 13, 2021) (3rd Revision- September 27,2021) (Revised- February 14, 2022)

 

 

 

The Potomac School District #11 will begin the first day of instruction for the 2020-21 school year on August 26th. The Potomac School District Board of Trustees and staff members recognize that these are unusual times as a result of the COVID-19 virus. Because the health and safety of our students and staff members are of primary importance, some policies and procedures will be in place until such time as the COVID-19 emergency no longer exists. The school board approved the 1900 Series – COVID-19 Emergency Policies in June. This Return-to-School Plan is based on those policies, and the procedures and practices outlined in this plan will be followed until the school board determines that the emergency measures are no longer needed.

 

While the desire of the school board and the staff members is to provide a learning environment that is as close to “normal” for our students as is feasible, we are required to follow the directives and mandates of the governor and our county health department.  The steps outlined in this plan are subject to revision at any point should the directives from either of these two entities change. Any references in this plan to “Phases” are based on the phased reopening included in the directives from the governor. At the time of the origination of this plan, schools in Montana were in Phase Two of the governor’s reopening plan, and the steps outlined are based on remaining in that phase.  Should the governor choose to move the state forward to Phase Three or return to Phase One, the plan will be modified accordingly.

 

GOVERNOR BULLOCK’S PHASE TWO REOPENING PLAN WITH NOTED LOCAL MODIFICATIONS

 

Below are the specific requirements that impact schools under the current Phase Two of the governor’s plan. In the process of adopting the 1900 series of board policies, our school board chose to modify some portions of these policies based on the fact that our school enrollment is relatively small. This allows us more flexibility in how we address social distancing and other accommodations. An asterisk next to bullet points from the governor’s Phase Two components below indicates that our school board has exercised their local decision-making authority with regard to that specific point.

 

CLEANING AND SANITATION

• Frequent disinfecting of door handles, desks, and other common spaces.

• Require handwashing in regular intervals.

• Keep libraries, gyms, and playgrounds off limits unless they can be sanitized between groups.*

• Provide hand sanitizer.

*We will continue using these facilities with sanitization taking place daily. at intervals including before and after school.  Handwashing will be required of all students prior to lunch and after any recess periods as well as at times where students come into contact with frequently touched objects such as in the gym, library, or playground.

 

 

SICK POLICIES

• Implement temperature checks and/or symptom screening when practical. *

• Require anyone (students or staff) with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home.

*All students, staff members, volunteers, or visitors will have their temperature checked upon entry into the school buildings.

 

LIMIT CLASS SIZES

• Consider breaking larger classes into smaller groups.

• Students may alternate school days or attend for half days.*

*We will operate a normal schedule except that recess and library groups will be staggered

 

MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE

• Consider use of face coverings by all staff and students*

• Keep students with the same group and in the same classroom, with teachers rotating when practical.

• Consider students eating lunch in the classroom to help limit mixing of students.**

• Cancel extracurricular activities.

• Prevent any non-school staff, including parents, from entering school buildings.***

• Consider reducing bus loads to allow for one student per seat. Locally, face coverings will be required of anyone riding on a school bus.

*At the time of the first publication of this plan, the governor’s directive requiring the wearing of face coverings did not apply to schools; however, on August 12th, the governor included all public and private schools in his mandate to wear face coverings while indoors.

**Lunch will be served in the gym with the tables spaced apart and seating arrangements controlled. There will be no salad bar.

***This does not apply to parents/guardians, or volunteers. Other visitors will be required to wear face coverings and be subject to a temperature check.

 

ACCOMMODATIONS for students, teachers, and staff in an at-risk group:

• Schools that reopen will need to take into consideration that some teachers and staff will fall into the at-risk category because of their age or other health risks. These individuals should have additional accommodations including: teaching classes remotely, utilizing a larger classroom where social distancing can be maintained, or given an option not to return until the risks are reduced.

• Students who are high risk or who have family members who are high risk should not be penalized for failing to attend and should continue to receive remote support.

• Accommodations should also be extended to students and staff who are required to quarantine due to exposure or potential exposure.

 

CONFIRMED or SUSPECTED case of COVID-19

• Collaborate with public health to ensure each school has a plan for reporting, contact tracing and both short-term or extended closures in the case of a positive COVID case related to the school or community.

• Utilize CDC guidelines https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/guidance-for-schools.html

 

 

Potomac School implementation steps and requirements:

1. All students, staff members, and visitors will be screened for temperature upon entering the building at the start of the day. Students showing a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher (confirmed by a second reading) will be isolated in a temporary holding area, and their parents will be asked to come and take the child home.

Note: The temporary holding area will be the room adjacent to the main office except on those days when our special need student who needs access to a changing room is present.  On those days, the teacher workroom area will be used as a temporary holding area for students with temperature readings above 100.4 degrees.

1. Parents will be asked to complete a Daily Health Assessment (guide provided) before sending their child to school each day.  They are asked to also send a mask to school with their students to be worn at all times when inside school facilities.

Note: On August 12th, the governor expanded his original mandate requiring the wearing of face coverings to include all public and private schools in counties with more than 4 active Covid-19 cases. All students, staff members, volunteers, and visitors will be required to wear face coverings while inside our school facilities.

1. Wearing face coverings in the classroom is required for both students and staff members. When inside school facilities, all adults and children 5 years old or older will be required to wear face coverings unless they have a medical condition that prohibits wearing a mask.

2. Parents will be asked to send their own water bottle to school for their children’s use. The drinking fountain spigots will be covered and not be used.  The bottle fillers will be available for use.

3. The movement of students in the staircases will be restricted directionally-- Up Only and Down Only staircases.  The exterior door to the basement will be for Exit Only.

4. Morning recesses will be scheduled to allow only one classroom group in a designated area of the playground at a time.

5. Students will wash their hands immediately prior to and immediately after recesses.

6. PE classes will be conducted outdoors whenever possible.  PE equipment will be cleaned/sanitized before the next use.

7. Library sessions will be restricted to one class at a time.

8. Inter-school competitive flag football and volleyball will not be offered this fall. Conditioning or skill development clinics may be offered with some restrictions in relation to social distancing and physical contact. 

9. School events and other gathering involving more than 50 people will be scheduled only when such gatherings follow the restrictions imposed by our government agencies-- governor's office or the health department.

10. Student seating during lunch periods will be controlled to allow for social distancing-- Tables will be separated and the number of students per table will be limited.

11. Hand washing prior to lunch will be required of all students.

12. Hand sanitizer will be available for use in all classrooms.  Use of hand sanitizers by students in grades preK through third grade will be done under adult supervision only.

13. The number of students permitted in the restroom will be limited to no more than three students at a time.

Note: This plan may be modified at any time based on directives from the state or county government. These directives are from the health department and the school district must comply with them. If you have questions regarding these requirements or their interpretation, please contact the Missoula City-County Health Department.

 

 

 

MISSOULA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTIVES IN THE EVENT OF EXPOSED TO THE VIRUS

 

Note: The following are directives from the health department to which the school district must comply. If you have questions regarding these requirements or their interpretation, please contact the Missoula City-County Health Department.

 

Schools with a Staff/Student with COVID-19: What to Expect/Who Can Attend?

 

What will happen when a student/staff tests positive for Covid-19?

·       The MCCHD is notified of all positive Covid-19 test results for residents living in Missoula County. MCCHD staff will then contact the positive individual/family and start an investigation.

·       The positive individual will be asked to Isolate at home and not be allowed to come to school or activities until the end of their Isolation period (to be determined by public health).

Does the School need to Close?

·       Not necessarily. If the school is able to remove everyone from the areas that need to be cleaned, the school may clean those impacted areas without closing.

·       Some students and staff with potential exposure may be asked to temporarily not attend while the school works with MCCHD to determine who had close contact with the person with a positive Covid-19 test.

Who will be notified that they were exposed?

·       All Close Contacts-People who were within 6 feet of the person who tested positive for 15 minutes or more. MCCHD will work with the school to notify these individuals/their families.  People who do not receive a phone call from MCCHD have not been identified as a close contact.

·       Above information is gathered by MCCHD staff during their investigation.  MCCHD will work with school staff to get information needed-names and phones numbers of close contacts.

Who cannot come to the school after someone tests positive for Covid-19?

·       Students and staff who had close contact with the person who tested positive will need to stay home(quarantine) until 14 days after their last contact with the person who tested positive. This may be a different time for people depending on when they attended or last worked with the positive person.

·       A close contact cannot come back early if they have a negative test during the 14 days-they could still be incubating the virus.

When can someone who had a positive test return?

·       People with a positive test can return when they have been fever-free for 24 hours without taking fever reducing medication, and it has been at least 10 days since their symptoms started. This may be shorter than the time a close contact needs to stay at home.

·       People with a positive test do not need a negative test to return.

Can siblings/parents of someone who tested positive come to school?

·       No, siblings and parents would have close contact if living in the same home and must stay home until they meet MCCHD criteria for returning (the exact timeline will vary by individual).

Can siblings/parents of a close contact come to school?

·       Yes, they were not exposed to someone with Covid-19 so they can still come.

 

Revisions to Original Return-to-School Plan- Presented to the Board for approval on December 14, 2020 and revised through board action on September 27, 2021. Additional revisions made February 14, 2022.

 

• As we approach the potential for an ever-increasing number of Covid cases in and around our community, we are having to prepare for the potential that face-to-face instruction in schools may not continue to be possible. In anticipation of this possibility and to address some concern issues we are having with students who are not present for face-to-face instruction, we have made some revisions to our Opt-Out Option. Currently we have a few families who are asking for their students to be served through online instruction even though their students have not been required to be quarantined by the health department nor do they have family members at home who are at risk.  The Opt-Out Option was put in place in response to our recent 1900 policies that were adopted by the board to address the emergency resulting from Covid. Once the Opt-Out Option has been selected by a family and approved by the principal, the student will continue online instruction until the end of the quarter.  All Opt-Out requests will need to be resubmitted for approval each quarter. If the reasons for the Opt-Out request must be related to the impact of Covid on the student or his or her family.  If a student failed to complete his or her assignments during a prior Opt-Out period, the request for a renewal of the Opt-Out Option will be denied unless there are extenuating circumstances approved by the principal. If a student is absent from school due to normal childhood illness, that student should follow our regular procedures for completing his or her assignments while absent rather than attempting to participate through our online protocols involving extra planning and effort on the part of our teachers.

• Policy 1905 that gave us the authority to grant credit to students for online learning requires that we are able to assess the students’ learning and document their progress. Students who do not complete and submit their online assignments by the deadlines established by their teacher will receive an “Incomplete” for those assignments and assessments. Students who fail to consistently complete assignments and/or assessments may lose the option to Opt Out of face-to-face learning. The principal will consider extenuating circumstances before removing Opt Out option.

• As the number of Covid cases increases, we will shift to full online instruction even if the health department does not mandate school closures if we reach a target threshold in terms of students or teachers who are not able to attend school for face-to-face instruction.  For example if we have a third or 33% percent of our enrolled students (or 26 students) who are being quarantined, that would average three students per grade level, so in our combined grade level classes that would be six students who would be streaming instruction.  At that point, it would not be practical for our teachers to try to instruct both students in his or her classroom at online.  Likewise if When we have more than two of our teachers out for quarantine, we would not be able to secure enough substitute teachers to cover their in-class instruction; therefore, the administration is recommending that our trigger points for going to all online instruction schoolwide would be 50% 33% of the students (twenty-six) out for Covid-related absences or no more than two of our teachers out. Any individual cohort group-- (preK, Kindergarten, First Grade, Second/Third Grades combined, Fourth/Fifth Grades combined, Sixth/Seventh/Eighth Grade combined) will be placed into online instruction if 50% of the students in that cohort group are out of school for Covid-related absences.

• Once we go into the online instructional mode, we will remain in that mode for two weeks seven five (5) calendar days—returning the Monday after the seven-day five-day period. and then The administration will reassess where we stand relative to the two trigger points- having 50% of the students out or more than two certified teachers out to determine whether or not to return to face-to-face instruction. Note: The “50% of the students out” metric will be used by the administration to determine both when a cohort group of students or the entire school needs to shift into online instruction.