This Message Center is organized and operated by David Vitale

COVID-19 Updates: 2020-21 School Year Preparation

Reopening Plan:

Dr. Schug shared the Pandemic Planning Team’s initial draft plan for a safe reopening of schools with the goal of having a final version ready for Board approval at the July Board meeting.  The formal approval will meant that further preparation and plan adjustments can continue to be made including all of the necessary preparations for professional development and the start of the school year for staff and students.  The draft plan is also derived from a cooperative effort among the Dodge and Jefferson County superintendents. 

The key points of the plan include the following:

• 1. Plan has been developed in cooperation with the Watertown Health Department
• 2. Plan is to resume with full days at full capacity if at all possible
• 3. Face coverings required for staff and students when 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained - not required for our youngest children for whom the harms of a face covering may outweigh the benefits
• 4. Daily temperature taking and symptom checker for students
• 5. Staff will self-monitor with daily temperature taking and symptom checker
• 6. WUSD will likely need to shift to other models over the course of the school year depending on COVID cases within the WUSD (blended and virtual)
• 7. No walk-in visitors will be permitted
• 8. Athletics and activities to follow same guidelines (still awaiting additional guidance from the WIAA),
• 9. Face coverings on buses to increase capacity (again not for our youngest children).
• 10. Board, staff and activities to return in person beginning as of August 3rd following safety protocols provided the Board approves a final plan at our July meeting.

Educational Planning – Ongoing Discussion/Follow-up

Related to the various instructional scenarios for the 2020-21 school year, Dr. Vitale shared highlights from meetings held with the Educational Planning Team dating back to May 21.  Device acquisition allowing WUSD to furnish a mobile device for all students in need is underway.  Feedback from April surveys of staff and parents around common instructional platforms is also being addressed.  Pursuing Seesaw for Schools (grade K-5), SchoolsPLP (grade 6-12) with the ability to integrate Google Apps, Zoom conferencing, Khan Academy and other teacher created learning objects is the result of offering a blend of pre-populated content with the ability to build courses that came from additional feedback from staff.  Federal support in the form of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act can eventually be used to reimburse for instructional and safety related costs incurred from COVID-19 planning preparations. 

A video link to the meeting can be found here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XR_IWxBHfaqTmUM5FdEK3jt_a_im_t77/view?usp=sharing

 

posted July 14, 2020 « back to Message Center home

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.