Hoopeston Area CUSD #11 families,
The start of the 20-21 school year is nearly upon us. With the guidance of ISBE and IDPH we have developed a plan to start the school year. We are continuously working to address the many components of returning to school in a pandemic. We are providing families options to return to school. An in-person instructional model, hybrid of partial remote learning and fully remote learning may be selected by families to best fit their situations. We are following daily announcements of ISBE, IDPH and the Governor's office to follow guidance and provide educational services for our students.
Hoopeston Area CUSD #11
Return to Learn Block Plan
Introduction
This draft plan was created by a committee of teachers, administrators, and HEA. To assist in the creation of the plan, the committee:
reviewed the ISBE/IDPH Transition Joint Guidance
surveyed parents and staff
consulted with legal counsel and the district insurance carrier
The committee strived to balance the need to provide for the overall health of students and staff, viewing health as just not physical health but also academic health, mental health, social health, and emotional health.
The Return to Learn Block Plan was approved by the Board of Education at a July 28 special board meeting.
Primary Method of Instruction
The district will be utilizing a hybrid learning plan for all students as the primary method of instruction for the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year.
Maple & John Greer will utilize 5 days a week of in-person instruction with early dismissal (8:20 am - 1:05 pm).
M.S./H.S. will utilize in-person instruction (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) early dismissal (8:20 am - 12:20 pm) with Wednesday as a remote learning day.
Families may select fully remote learning provided by the child’s school.
Families selecting remote learning will be provided information from their child’s school regarding the distribution of technology equipment and other resources.
The first day of student attendance will be on Thursday, August 20.
All schools will be on an early dismissal schedule through the END of the first quarter. This schedule will require 60 - 78 minutes of remote learning daily to meet the 5 clock hours of instruction required by ISBE to count as a full day of attendance.
Maple & John Greer Grade Schools: 8:20am-1:05pm
Students attend five (5) days per week with one hour remote learning daily.
Morning PreK will run from 8:10 am - 10:40 am
Afternoon sections of PreK will run from 12:10 pm -2:40 pm
Middle School/High School: 8:20am - 12:20pm
Students attend four (4) days/week with one hour remote learning daily.
Early Dismissal on attendance days (Mon., Tues, Thurs. & Fri)
78 minutes of remote learning required on attendance days (Mon., Tues, Thurs. & Fri)
Wednesday is designated as a remote learning day.
Rationale:
Students in-person instruction four (4) days per week.
Less time for students to wear face coverings as they acclimate to wearing them.
Less time in buildings that are not air conditioned.
Additional time for teachers to receive professional development and prepare remote learning materials.
Additional time for staff to disinfect high-touch surfaces.
A decision will be made in mid-September as to whether to continue the early dismissal schedule for the remainder of first semester or to revert back to a regular dismissal schedule beginning with the beginning of the second quarter.
Alternative Methods of Instruction
Students and their families may self select to participate in fully remote learning. Lessons will be provided that mirror the in-person learning option.
Students will have access to a teacher if students have questions or need support.
Parents must choose at registration if they are signing up for in-person learning or for remote learning. They will be permitted to make a change for the second quarter.
Parents not wanting their students to participate in either in-person learning or in the remote learning opportunities should unenroll their students from Hoopeston Area Schools by transferring them to a different school district or filling out a “Withdrawal to Homeschool Form.”
Face Coverings
Students and staff MUST wear a face covering that covers the mouth and nose at all times.
Exceptions:
At lunch when eating
Outdoors when able to maintain proper social distancing (defined as at least 6 feet apart from others)
While playing a musical instrument that requires breath
Face coverings include:
Face Masks
Neck Gaiters (worn around the mouth and nose)
Parents are encouraged to provide face coverings for their students. The district will have face coverings available should a student need one.
Students refusing to wear a face covering will not be allowed to attend school and will be sent home.
"As required by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education, all individuals present at or seeking entrance to any school building shall be required to wear a face covering. All individuals in the building shall wear face coverings at all times within the buildings, and no person shall be permitted entry without a face covering. Persons desiring entry at the school building or school bus who do not possess or refuse a face covering will be denied entry."
Students who regularly are removing their face covering and/or not wearing it properly will be addressed through the standard disciplinary procedure consistent with the student’s age and developmental level.
Student Exclusion and Return to School
Students with ANY of the following known COVID-19 symptoms must remain home from school: fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, fatigue, muscle and body aches, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Students must remain out until symptom free, a MINIMUM of 24 hours. (You may NOT send a student late to school if they demonstrated any of the symptoms that morning.)
If a student has a fever, they must remain out that day AND the next day (provided there is school the next day). They may return on the 3rd day if they have been fever free at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
While a temperature of over 100.4 F is the official measure of a fever, we recommend that you keep students home with any temperature over 99.9 F.
Students that are sent to school will be DAILY screened for symptoms and have their temperature checked.
Symptom screenings/temperature checks will occur prior to getting on the bus (for bus riders) or prior to entering the building (for non-bus riders).
Any student with a temperature of over 100.4 F (regardless of what their temperature was at home) or with any of the above listed COVID-19 symptoms will not be permitted to board the bus (bus riders) or will be sent home (non-bus riders). They must remain out until symptom free, a MINIMUM of the remainder of that school day AND the next day (provided there is school next day). Once again, this includes 24-hour fever free without fever-reducing medication.
Under no circumstance should an elementary student be left unattended at a bus stop in the morning since they will not be allowed to board the bus if they have a fever or any COVID-like symptoms. An adult should be present with the student or the student may walk home provided they are with a sibling in junior high or high school.
Students who test positive for COVID-19 OR whose combination of symptoms leads the school to suspect they have COVID-19 must remain out of school until they meet ALL of the following criteria:
Symptom-free
72-hour fever free without fever-reducing medication
A minimum of 10-days must pass after symptoms first appeared
These students are encouraged to seek medical attention and obtain a negative COVID test but it is not required.
The combination of symptoms that would lead to a COVID-suspected exclusion are:
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, persistent cough, OR loss of taste or smell;
AND at least two other COVID-like symptoms (fever, chills, fatigue, muscle and body aches, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Students who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or in close contact with someone who is suspected of having COVID-19 must isolate at home and monitor symptoms. They may not return to school until 14-days have passed since exposure.
“Close contact” is defined as within 6 feet of the person for more than 15 consecutive minutes.
Students who are excluded from school due to testing positive for COVID-19, for being suspected of having COVID-19, or for being in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who is suspected of having COVID-19 will continue to be educated remotely by the district during the exclusion period.
District Closure and Transition to Full-Time Remote Learning
The district will close and transition to full-time remote learning upon:
A state-order closing schools
An outbreak of COVID-19 cases, in consultation with local health officials
In order to improve on the effectiveness of remote learning, the following changes will be put in place:
Kindergarten through twelfth grade will use Google Classroom. Students will be provided with training on these platforms during in-person learning.
Reference Hoopeston Area C.U.S.D. #11 Remote Learning Plan and Contract
Parents should begin planning now for possible child care should the district have to close and transition to full-time remote learning.
Measures to Keep Students/Staff Safe
Classroom seats will be set up in rows facing the same direction and will be spread out as much as possible.
Students will be given assigned seats in classrooms and buses to more easily track exposure to COVID.
Hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms. Students will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer upon entering and leaving classrooms and after using a shared object.
Drinking fountains will be turned off. Bottled water will be available. .
Grab n Go lunches provided to 6-12 students upon dismissal. K-5 students will utilize lunch in the classroom or cafeteria with capacity limits followed (50)
Lockers will be utilized with social distancing practiced through alternating times and groups.
Students utilizing school busses will be required to wear masks while on the school bus and social distancing will be practiced as much as possible.
Parents are encouraged to provide students with transportation to school as opposed to riding buses. This will mean less time wearing face coverings and less exposure to other students within 6 feet, making it less likely that a student will have to be excluded for 14-days for close contact with someone with COVID-19 or suspected to have COVID-19.
Visitors must wear face coverings and will not be allowed past the office.
Field trips will be canceled until further notice.
Increased cleaning of school buildings will take place, especially high-touch surfaces.