Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Public Schools Plan for the Start of the 2020-2021 School Year (REVISED 07/24/20)
REVISED 07/24/20
It is our intention to begin the 2020-2021 school year as planned with students and staff back in our buildings for face-to-face instruction. In order to make this happen and provide the safest environment for all of our students and staff, several modifications will need to be made. The plan below outlines these modifications with as much detail as we are able to provide at this time. Since the circumstances and guidance surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is ever changing, we ask for continued patience and understanding from all of our school family as we work through each new challenge that is presented.
The following strategies will be employed to reduce the spread of COVID-19
- Physical distancing to decrease the spread of respiratory particles
- Creating barriers to decrease the spread of respiratory particles
- Healthy personal hygiene practices
- Limit the number of people students/staff are encountering
- Frequent cleaning and disinfecting
- Encouraging infected and symptomatic students and staff to stay home
Students and staff will be required to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth when social distancing of six feet cannot be maintained. Parents/guardians providing documentation from a health care provider of their student having an underlying condition which would exempt them from wearing a mask should contact the building principal.
Busing to School
- Students riding the bus with sibling(s) will be assigned to sit in a seat with their sibling(s).
- Other students will be spaced out on the bus as much as possible.
- Due to student proximity on the buses, students will be required to wear masks.
School Arrival
- Students will report to designated locations in order to provide for social distancing.
Classrooms
- Students will all be seated as far apart as possible.
- Students desks should all be facing the same direction, if possible.
Class Locations and Transitions
- Students will attend classrooms as normal.
- Classrooms will be disinfected multiple times per day.
- Transitions will be scheduled to limit the number of students in the hall and increase distance between students.
Breakfast/Lunches
Elementary School
- Students will eat breakfast in their homerooms.
- Students will eat lunch in their homerooms.
- School lunches will be brought to the homerooms.
Middle School
- Students will eat breakfast in the MS commons.
- Students will be assigned to eat lunch in either their homeroom, MS commons or HS stage in order to provide social distancing.
High School
- Students will eat breakfast on the HS stage.
- Students will be assigned to eat lunch in either the MS commons or HS stage in order to provide social distancing.
Recesses
Elementary School
- Each grade level will have their own recess times and equipment.
- Equipment will be sanitized after each recess.
- Playground structures will either be unavailable or sanitized between recesses.
Middle School
- Each grade level will have their own recess times and equipment.
- Equipment will be sanitized after each recess.
Pep Rallies/Large Group Student Assemblies
- Discontinued until further notice.
Field Trips
- Discontinued until further notice.
Snacks/Birthday Treats
- Snacks/birthday treats brought from home to be shared must be individually pre-packaged.
End of Day Dismissal
- Buildings may stagger dismissal times slightly to decrease congestion and increase distancing.
Visitors
- Parents/guardians and visitors will not be allowed to visit the school building during the school day.
Screening for COVID-19
- Parents/guardians have the responsibility for daily screening of students at home. The CDC’s list of symptoms of Coronavirus will be shared with parents.
- Students/staff with two of the following: fever, chills, rigors, myalgia, headache, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea OR at least one of the following: new cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, loss of taste and smell will be immediately isolated in a designated area and sent home as soon as possible.
- The student/staff will be excluded from school for 10 days from symptom onset AND only allowed to return 3 days after fever resolution AND improved respiratory symptoms. Students/staff may return to school sooner if a doctor establishes an alternative diagnosis, presents a doctor’s note to confirm the presence of an alternative diagnosis that explains the symptoms
- Persons who have been excluded due to COVID-19 symptoms and have tested negative may return once they are fever free for at least 24 hours without medication AND demonstrate improved respiratory symptoms.
District Response When a Student/Staff Member Tests Positive for COVID-19
- The student/staff will be excluded from attending school for 10 days from symptom onset AND only allowed to return 3 days after they are fever free AND demonstrate improved respiratory symptoms.
- The district will work closely with the Southeast District Health Department to coordinate public notification, contact tracing and possible school closure.
Attendance Procedures
- Chronic absenteeism referrals will be made to the County Attorney for students exceeding 20-days of absence, who are also not participating in the assigned learning activities.
Students with Underlying Medical Conditions
- Parents/guardians providing documentation of their student having an underlying medical condition, which would prohibit them from attending school can contact the building principal to set up an off campus individualized learning plan for their student during the 2020-2021 school year. Underlying medical conditions include:
- Chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma.
- Serious heart conditions.
- Immunocompromised.
- Diabetes.
- Chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis.
- Liver disease.
Guidance for schooling decisions is being provided by:
State Directed Health Measures
- Nebraska Governor
Pete Ricketts
Local Directed Health Measures
- Southeast District Health Department
Grant Brueggemann, Health Director
2511 Schneider Avenue Auburn, NE 68305-3054
Phone: (402) 274-3993; Toll Free: (877) 777-0424 Fax: (402) 274-3967
Email: grant@sedhd.org Web site: www.sedhd.org
(Johnson County/Tecumseh, Nemaha County/Auburn, Otoe County/Nebraska City, Pawnee County/Pawnee City, Richardson County/Falls City)
Nebraska Department of Education
Dr. Matthew Blomstedt, Commissioner of Education
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention