District plan keeps children’s safety in mind and allows flexibility
By Kellen Olshefski
The reopening plan – which calls for students to return to school in-person Sept. 8 – was officially approved unanimously by the Elkhorn Area School District Board of Education at it’s July meeting.
Under the plan, students will return to traditional face-to-face classroom learning five days a week. There are two alternative educational models (hybrid learning for grades 6-12 and remote learning for K-12) prepared if uncontrolled transmission arises in the community, a need which would be determined in cooperation with local health officials.
In addition, EASD is allowing families to choose an alternative instructional model for their children if they’re not comfortable with the traditional learning model. Those alternatives include joining the Options Virtual School for students in 4K through 12 or the district’s Career and College Academy for students in grades 9 through 12.
The school district will also be streaming grade 6 through 12 classes live each day, and elementary level lessons will be made available online for those students who cannot attend in-person.
“Our plan is flexible and will adapt in accordance to the COVID-19 situation in our community,” District Superintendent Jason Tadlock said in a message on the district website. “The plan also provides families alternative choices if they do not want their students to return to face to face instruction at this time.”
With the district returning to face-to-face learning, the district is asking families to screen their students each morning before school and keep students home who may be ill. According to the district, students who have a fever of more than 100.4 degrees, have vomited in the past 24 hours, have a runny nose with green or yellow discharge, have a persistent cough, a sore throat, diarrhea, rash with itching or fever or any other symptoms associated with COVID-19 should stay home.
Students with the symptoms listed above who have not had any known contact or exposure to the virus are asked to remain home for at least three days and will then be allowed to return after symptoms have improved and the student has been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medications.
Those students who come to school with symptoms or develop symptoms while at school will be sent home and required to follow a return-to-school protocol in accordance with their symptoms and current health department guidance.
In-school requirements
At school, masks and face coverings will be required for anyone 5 and older when indoors while the statewide mask mandate remains in effect. After the mandate expires, face coverings and masks will be encouraged and may be required in situations where physical distancing is not possible in grades 6 through 12.
Physical distancing will be implemented throughout the district as much as possible, according to the district’s reopening plan.
As for the lunch hour, self-service and grab-and-go meal options will be eliminated, where applicable, and each school will spread out and stagger lunch hours to limit the number of students in the cafeteria and promote social distancing. At the elementary level, students will rotate between eating in the cafeteria and their classrooms.
Elementary students will remain in their homeroom classes throughout the majority of the day, traveling only for special classes. Students in grades 6 through 12 will utilize structured travel patterns (such as one-way hallways) to help maintain social distancing between classes.
Cleaning increased
The EASD has increased its daily and weekly cleaning protocols, specifically in communal areas and classrooms with a focus on what’s referred to as high touch points in each building.
In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in a building, the district will work with the health department to take appropriate measures, which may include closing parts or all of a building for cleaning.
Durham School Services, the bus company that services the district, will be following similar protocols, including disinfecting buses twice per day, wiping down touch points between routes and utilizing assigned seats for students on the bus. Durham will also have drivers wear face coverings at all times when students are on the bus.
As local and state health directives may require the district to change or modify its plans at any times and shift to one of the alternative learning models, the district is encouraging families to have a plan in place for childcare if that need should arise.
“Next year I will be a parent with five kids in four of our schools,” Tadlock said. “I will always look at our decisions through the lens of a parent and will do my best to assure that we are putting plans in place that meet the needs of our families.”
For more on the plan, visit elkhorn.k12.wi.us/coronavirus_update_center.
The Elkhorn Independent will share more details related to the upcoming school year as they become available.
