(Posted July 29, 2020)
Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Southeastern Local Schools released its plan for reopening schools this fall, along with two contingency plans.
As of now, Plan A is to open full-time on Aug. 26. Students have two options: in-school instruction or remote online instruction. Parents of children who choose the remote online option must let school officials know by Aug. 5, otherwise their children will be enrolled automatically for in-school learning.
For Miami View students, the contact is Principal David Shea who can be reached at dshea@sels.us. For junior high and senior high students, the contact is Principal P.J. Bertemes who can be reached at pbertemes@sels.us.
Students who opt for in-school instruction can expect to see hand sanitizer throughout the school buildings. Classroom surfaces will be sanitized at the end of each day. As much as possible, the sharing of supplies and equipment will be limited.
Staff and students will be expected to maintain six feet of social distancing when possible. The district is adjusting the timing and logistics of transitions between classes to reduce the number of people in the hallways at the same time.
According to the district’s plan, staff must wear face masks anytime they are within six feet of students. Gov. Mike DeWine strongly encourages students in grades 3-12 to wear masks, but it is not required. Students with pre-existing conditions or at high risk are encouraged to wear masks and can ask for preferential seating.
Students, staff and visitors must conduct self temperature checks before coming to school. Staff will complete a daily employee symptom checklist. Parents and guardians should notify the school if their student is no feeling well before leaving for school.
If a student has a fever of 100.4 F or above, they should stay home regardless of any other symptoms. A student who has the following symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home:
- any of the following–cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing; or
- two of the following–fever, chills, muscle ache or pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste of smell, gastrointestinal issues (nausea, vomiting or diarrhea); or
- any of the following–cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle ache or pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, gastrointestinal issues (nausea, vomiting or diarrhea) and an epidemiological link to a case of COVID-19.
Cafeteria food will include grab-and-go breakfasts. Lunch might be limited to one entree for all grades. Students might have to eat in their classrooms or a combination of classrooms and cafeteria.
The number of students per classroom will be determined on an individual room basis. Seating charts will assist with contact tracing, if needed. As for transportation, the district will attempt to keep the number of students per bus seat to no more than two and try to seat siblings together. Seating charts will be used, and bus drivers are required to wear masks.
Students who opt for remote online learning will use Google Classroom, can contact school staff with questions, will have opportunity to interact with other students online, will receive online lessons to do at home, and might receive hard copy instructional packets.
Students can choose to switch their learning option from remote to in-school or vice-versa for the second semester. They must make their choice by Dec. 1.
The school district will make adjustments to instructional formats based on changes to Clark County’s status according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
If the county reaches a level that requires schools to reduce classroom occupancy to approximately 50 percent, Southeastern will go to its Plan B–a blended approach in which students will learn part-time in-school and part-time at home online. In this scenario, students will be assigned to certain days of the week. One week, students who live at even-numbered addresses will go to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and learn remotely online Tuesday and Thursday. That schedule will flop the next week with students who live at odd-numbered addresses and continue to alternate moving forward. Students who have chosen to do all of their learning remotely will continue to stay 100 percent remote.
If schools are ordered to close their doors, Southeastern will go to its Plan C–all remote online learning for all students.
To see Southeastern’s full reopening plan, including how district leaders will communicate and handle positive COVID-19 cases, details about sanitary and safety protocols, and an explanation of the state’s Health Advisory System, go to the “Resources” section on the school’s home page, sels.us.
