Chesterton Tribune

 

 

An overview of the Duneland Schools reentry plan

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By LILY REX

The Duneland Schools Administration has released a plan to reopen the Duneland Schools with added precautions and contingency plans for the health and safety of students and staff amid COVID-19.

The draft plan in its entirety was sent to parents and staff on July 1, and the administration has made adjustments to the plan based on recent feedback, according to a message on the DSC website yesterday from Duneland Superintendent Dr. Chip Pettit. The School Board will consider approving the draft plan at a meeting Monday, July 13 at 6 p.m. that will be held in the Chesterton Middle School auditorium to facilitate social distancing.

The following is an overview of the plan. All information was sourced directly from the 42-page document, which is available at: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/cms/lib/IN01001867/Centricity/Domain/4/DSCReentryPlan_FinalDraft.pdf

The draft plan was developed over two months with input from approximately 90 Duneland Schools staff members and after a survey to parents revealed that approximately 80 percent of respondents want a return to traditional learning. Subcommittees were formed to address the following topics: school operations, student health, return to instruction, technology, transportation, facilities, extra-curricular & transitional/start-up events, mental health, CMS & CHS athletics, human resources.

“We believe this plan allows an educational path for all students. Students who are ready to return to a more traditional model of education will have an opportunity to do so with a consistent teacher by grade level or course. Students who feel more comfortable at-home will have the opportunity to continue their education in a remote model, again with consistency with their peers and teacher(s). Finally, students who wish to transition between the two models based on the changing concerns of the pandemic will have the opportunity to remain flexible,” the Administration wrote in the plan on Page 4.

The plan begins with a system of tiered levels that will dictate whether or not in-person instruction is safe at Duneland and how operations will change based on how COVID-19 is affecting the DSC population. Level 5 (red) would mean that COVID-19 is active and increasing at DSC and within the Duneland community and schools would close for remote learning. Level 1 (blue) would mean that COVID-19 is not active in the community, and students and staff would return to in-person instruction “with an emphasis on good hygiene.” In Levels 2, 3, and 4, families will be allowed to decide if they are most comfortable with in-person or remote learning options.

Level changes, when warranted, will be communicated immediately via the regular phone and email alert system and posted on the DSC website, the draft plan says.

Summary of Precautions

Students and employees will be expected to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Parents should be advised that any students exhibiting symptoms will be sent home, and staff will be observing for students who are exhibiting symptoms and will refer them to a school nurse.

Daily temperature checks will not be part of the planned self-screening and observatory screening of students and employees because fevers are not always present in COVID-19 cases, and temperature checks could do more harm than good by requiring students to congregate and wait their turns.

Students or employees will be excluded from school if they test positive for COVID-19 or if they exhibit one or more COVID-19 symptoms. Excluded people who were not tested for COVID-19 will be allowed to return upon spending 10 days away from school, improvement of symptoms, and going at least 72 hours without a fever.

Those who test positive will be allowed back once they have met the above conditions for untested individuals and received two negative test results at least 24 hours apart. Asymptomatic individuals who tested positive will be allowed back after they have gone 10 days without symptoms and been cleared by a healthcare provider.

If a student has one or more symptoms but is cleared by a doctor as having something else, that does not warrant exclusion from school. Students quarantined or excluded from school will be transitioned to remote learning.

“If a student or staff member has COVID-19 or is quarantined because of COVID-19 related symptoms, any other DSC student(s) or staff member(s) within the household should also stay home for the duration of the quarantine period,” the plans says on page 9.

DSC will work with the Porter County Health Department to perform contact tracing and evaluate risk in the event of positive cases to determine if a level increase and/or school closure is warranted. More specificity about daily operations in all grade levels and subjects is available in the full plan.

Important Highlights

Each DSC school will have a designated COVID-19 nurses’ area where students or staff who exhibit symptoms will be evaluated and/or wait to be picked up by family. There will be strict guidelines for who enters this room and what personal protective equipment they use. A log will be kept of who enters the room, and it will be disinfected frequently.

DSC will also have an “ample supply of cloth face coverings” available for students and employees. Families can also provide their own face coverings.

Teachers will be permitted to use face shields instead of masks in cases where students need to see their faces, such as cases of students with hearing difficulties or in foreign language classes.

Remote learning under the new mitigation strategy will be different from former eLearning models used for inclement weather and for the initial COVID-19 school closure this past spring, according to the draft plan. New remote learning strategies will employ live streaming, video-recorded lessons, a variety of hardcopy assignments and hands-on activities, and virtual discussions.

Passing periods may be extended to promote social distancing and students will be discouraged from congregating in groups in the halls. Decisions on extending passing periods will be made on a school-by-school basis.

Pick-up and drop-off plans may vary by building and could include staggered arrival and dismissal times. There may also be increased wait times in pick-up and drop-off lines due to an anticipated drop in bus ridership.

The school calendar has already been approved by the Board, and DSC will attempt to follow it, according to the draft plan.

The following is a level-by-level breakdown of how key operations and instruction will change based on threat level:

Level 1: COVID-19 not active in Duneland community or schools

--Instruction is all in-person.

--In general, mask usage will not be required, and school activity will proceed with an emphasis on good hygiene.

Level 2: COVID-19 activity in the Duneland community is low

--Families will be able to choose either in-person or remote learning for their students. In-person learning will place an emphasis on social distancing and good hygiene.

--Students will be required to carry a mask with them at all times. Mask usage on buses will be at the discretion of bus drivers. Social distancing measures and mask usage should be practiced at bus stops.

--A shortened school day will be used to give teachers an extra 35 minutes to plan and communicate with students learning remotely.

Level 3: COVID-19 activity is stable in Duneland community

--Families will be able to choose either in-person or remote learning for their students. Masks will be required during in-person learning where social distance cannot be maintained.

--Students will be required to carry a mask with them at all times. Students will be required to wear masks at all times except when eating or when in the classroom. At Level 3, mask usage in the classroom will be at the discretion of teachers. Masks will be required on buses and when loading and unloading buses.

--A shortened school day will be used to give teachers an extra 35 minutes to plan and communicate with students learning remotely.

Level 4: COVID-19 is active and increasing in Duneland community/ there are isolated cases at schools

--Families will be able to choose either in-person or remote learning for their students.

--Mask usage will be required at all times except for eating. Masks will be required on buses and when loading and unloading buses.

--A shortened school day will be used to give teachers an extra 35 minutes to plan and communicate with students learning remotely.

Level 5: COVID-19 is active and increasing within Duneland community and schools

--School closure: All learning will be remote

 

Posted 7/10/2020

 
 
 
 

 

 

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