Reopening Plan
- Hybrid Model
- Visitors
- Arrival
- Breakfast
- Lunch Schedule and Expectations
- Snacks
- Restroom Break
- Recess
- Snow Day Procedure
- Classroom
- Masks/Face Coverings
- Dismissal Expectations
- Instruction
- COVID-19 Information
Hybrid Model
March 15th- K-3 and High Minutes Students Return
- Group A: Monday & Tuesday
- Group B: Thursday & Friday
- High Minutes Special Education students will come Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
March 22nd- 4th - 6th grade Students Return
Wednesdays will be a virtual day for all students in order for the building to be deep cleaned
Please pay close attention to the group your child/ren are assigned to and ONLY send them on that day. If they come to school on the wrong days the following will be held in the gym to ensure social distancing until they are picked up or transported home.
- Group A: Monday & Tuesday
- Group B: Thursday & Friday
Visitors
- Visitors to school/classrooms will be extremely limited at this time.
- Parents and family members will not be allowed to enter the building to walk students to class or to visit classrooms until further notice.
- Entrance to outside visitors will be denied unless pre approved by administration.
- Visitors with approval reporting to Wheatley will follow all safety precautions. Each visitor will have temperature checked, sign in, complete a wellness form and be required to wear a mask at all times. PPE will be provided to the visitor(s) in the case a visitor does not bring their own.
Arrival
Big Picture: Group students for entry based on classroom location to minimize the amount of travel time and cross-traffic inside the building.
- Students may arrive/enter school no earlier than 8:55am, and should arrive no later than 9:15am. The exception to this is students who attend LINC before care.
- Wheatley staff will supervise designated entry points from 8:55am-9:15am and must sign in and out on the security entry from each day
- After 9:15am, late students should enter through the front entrance (Door 1). Parents will be required to bring student/s up to the door where a staff member will meet them at the door to sign their student in. Parents will not come into the main office for drop off or pick up.
- Masks must be worn by all individuals once on the bus and/or on Phillis Wheatley Elementary property. If a student forgets her/his mask, she/he will be provided a mask upon entry.
- Each student will take their temperature as they enter the door before proceeding to class.
- Any student with a fever will be sent home immediately.
- Student arrival building entry points
- (NE) Door 1: LINC
- (NE) Door 2: Main Entrance
- (E) Door 3: SPED Ramp Entrance
- (SE) Door 4: Employee and Bus riders Entrance
Arrival: Front Entrance (Door 2)
- 6ft paw markers are painted on the ground and students will stand on those as they await to enter the building.
- Students will have temperature checked, prior to entering the building
- Students will enter through labeled entrance doors for Kdgn, 1st and 6th and 2nd-3rd, and 5th grade
- Students will use hand sanitizer, upon entering the building
- Students will then walk straight to their classrooms
Arrival Buses: (Door 3 and 4)
- Buses will park on 24th St
- Students will be dismissed from buses one bus at a time, then proceed to door 3 (Silva, Highley, Inman, Erwood, Lewis, and SPED…)
- Students will be dismissed from buses one bus at a time, then proceed to door 4 (Ramsey, Berry, Arst, Wilkes, McGrath, Martin, and grades 4-6)
- Students will have temperature checked, prior to entering the building
- Students will use hand sanitizer, upon entering the building
- Student will then walk straight to their classroom
Breakfast
Big Picture: Students will social distance while having breakfast in the classroom.
- Students will grab breakfast at their entry location and report directly to class when they arrive at school.
- All students, including those in LINC will eat breakfast in their classrooms.
- Grab & Go Stations will be at designated entry location(s) to help with social distancing and breakfast accessibility for all students.
- Breakfast will be scheduled from 9:00am-9:30am
- Trash receptacles will be available in all hallways for breakfast waste. Unopened, leftover food items will be returned to the Café for tracking and discard.
- At the end of breakfast, student desks/eating surfaces should be disinfected by students &/or teachers.
- Spray or wipe desk/table with disinfectant
- Discard wipe or paper towel
- Wash hands
- Classrooms will receive cleaning supplies/refills from custodial services as necessary.
- Building custodians will collect trash each day at 9:30am.
Lunch Schedule and Expectations
Big Picture: Ensure 6 feet of distancing between kids having breakfast/lunch in the classroom.
11:00-11:30 Kindergarten/ 2nd/ Thomas
11:40 - 12:10 1st/ 3rd/ Williams
12:20 - 12:50 4th/6th/Hull
1:00 - 1:30 5th/Miller
- Students will remain seated at their desk for lunch.
- Students will wash their desk and hands before and after eating.
- Students will remove masks and stay behind their individual desk shield while eating and put them back on once finished.
- A lunch monitor will come to your classroom to supervise lunch (same adult each day). Staff members will wear a mask and ensure proper sanitation of themselves and student hands/desk.
- All school lunches, including drinks will be pre-assembled on disposable trays or in sacks.
- Adults will spray desks with disinfectant, or wipes and discard trash, while wearing gloves and a mask.
- Students will still be able to bring their lunch from home.
- Students must not share any portion of their lunch with other students or staff.
- We are not able to allow outside guests for lunch.
- Trash receptacles will be available in all hallways for lunch waste.
- Unopened, leftover food items will be returned to the Café for tracking and discard at the end of each lunch shift.
Snacks
- Students may bring snacks from home, to eat in the classroom when allowed by the classroom teacher. Snacks cannot be shared with other students.
- Snacks and drinks cannot be given to students (this includes store bought pre-packaged items and items made at home)
- Food service will provide snacks to students who do not bring their own.
Restroom Break
Big Picture: Students will use the restroom in the classroom as needed, following the guidelines of the teacher.
- Fully wash hands
- Signage posted near restrooms to remind students how to thoroughly wash their hands.
- Disinfectant spray on door knobs, faucet, toilet handle after each use.
- Custodians will clean bathrooms each evening and throughout the day as needed.
- Due to each of the classrooms at Wheatley having 2 restrooms, students will utilize the restrooms in the classrooms only.
Recess
Recess is an important part of the school day for students. Pupils will have multiple opportunities during the school day to positively interact with their peers. Each school will create a schedule for recess. Recess may occur indoors or outdoors. Playgrounds will only be utilized if they are properly sanitized. Teachers and support staff will supervise students during recess to ensure that they are behaving in a safe manner.
Big Picture: Allow kids to have fun outside, take a mask break if distancing guidelines are followed, and maintain cohort groupings.
- One grade level will be on the playground at a time, and each individual class will have a designated play zone for an entire recess period.
- Play zones will include large blacktop area, field and playground area
- Zone scheduling will be decided on by each grade level team.
- All teachers at each grade level will be on duty to supervise their own classes.
- All students and staff will wash hands before and after recess.
- Students will wear breakaway lanyards to hold their masks and allow them to re-mask quickly if needed.
- No more than two students six feet apart or more during an acceptable outdoor recess activity (ex. 2 students kicking a kickball back and forth, students taking turns shooting a basketball, etc)
- Line up markers will be placed outside for lining up
- Certain games will be off-limits due to social distancing concerns.
- For example, no team vs team basketball/football/soccer.
- No football, tag, contact sports, etc
Temperature/Wind Chill Recommendation
30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit - Regular outdoor play
20 to 29 degrees Fahrenheit - Maximum of 15 to 20 minutes outdoor play
19 degrees Fahrenheit or less - No outdoor play
HIGH HEAT/POOR AIR QUALITY
Heat Index/Air Quality Recommendation
90 to 95 degrees - Outside Play for 15 to 30 minutes or less
96 degrees or greater - No outdoor play
151 to 200 air quality index - Vigorous outside activities in the morning only
201 or greater air quality - No outside recess or physical education
Snow Day Procedure
Classroom
Big Picture: Masking, social distancing and hand sanitizing will be practiced.
- All students and staff are expected to wear masks in the classroom at all times, unless eating or drinking.
- We will observe 6ft. Social distancing to the best of our ability.
- Each student will have their own desk shield around their desk or table area.
- Teachers will allow for frequent hand washing and hand sanitizing throughout the day.
- Students will use individual classroom supplies rather than communal supplies.
Masks/Face Coverings
Dismissal Expectations
Big Picture: Group students for dismissal based on cohorts and methods of travel. Controlled, staggered dismissal to avoid congestion. Classroom teachers must stay in their classrooms until all kids are dismissed.
- No student will be dismissed after 3:00 pm. In order for us to ensure a smooth dismissal and adhere to safety guidelines.
- If you must pick up your student early for a dr. appointment or other emergency you must notify the office prior. You will then be required to wait outside the main entrance until your student is brought up. A staff member will meet you at the door with your student in order for you to sign them out without having to come into the building.
Linc
Bus Riders
- All buses will be parked on 24th St.
- SPED para will receive the buses and call in for students to be released for buses by SPED staff and dismiss earlier that 3:55pm
- Students will be dismissed when they are called and lined up following social distance guidelines and walked out Door 3 or Door 4 by an adult and placed on the bus
- Bus riders should wear masks until they exit the bus at their home stop.
Parent Pick Up and Walkers
- Walkers will be dismissed at 3:55pm from the classroom and be supervised by staff in the hallway as they exit out the main entrance (Door 2)
- Parents will park on 24th Terrace and park going North facing 24th St in front of the building.
- Parent will place assigned place card on the vehicle dashboard for staff members to see
- Staff member will use the walkie talkie to communicate with the classroom teacher to release the student from the classroom for parent pickup
- Students will walk supervised in the hallways by staff to the front entrance (Door 2) and be walked to their vehicle by an adult supervising outside
- Car riders should wear masks until they are loaded in their cars.
Instruction
What does learning look like in the hybrid model?
- Families have been assigned to A or B days of in-person learning based on last name along w/ grouping family members.
- Students returning on a Hybrid Model will attend school in person on Monday and Tuesday or Thursday, and Friday.
- Wednesday will be distance learning for all.
- “A” students will attend Wheatley on Monday and Tuesday while “B” students are at home.
- “B” students will attend Wheatley on Thursday and Friday while “A” students are at home.
- Wednesdays during the hybrid learning model will be remote for all students. Teachers will implement a daily schedule that looks just like it does currently in the distance learning model.
- Grade-levels will follow their posted lunchtime schedule.
- When students are in-person during the hybrid learning model, our teachers will be working with this group to engage them in all content areas.
- When students are at home during the hybrid learning model, our teachers will be providing asynchronous (independent) learning activities to support their continued growth in all content areas and will be available for office hours for ELA and Math.
- Encore teachers will work with students on their in-person learning days. On at-home days, encore teachers will provide students with independent activities to support their learning. All students will participate in Encore via Teams on Wednesdays during the hybrid learning mode.
- When students are at school, Encore will take place in the classroom.
- All students will utilize SeeSaw or Google Classroom to access learning activities and instruction on asynchronous days.
- Immediate access to teachers during the hybrid learning model will be limited compared to the distance learning model. This is due to the fact that teachers will have students with them for the entire school day. Teachers will continue to strive to respond to all email communication within 24 hours.
COVID-19 Information
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Prior to coming to school each day, it is important to monitor your student for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. For the health and safety of all students and staff, please conduct a Daily COVID-19 Assessment.
It is not necessary to report the assessment has been completed unless you are reporting a YES response to attendance and/or the school nurse. Please call the attendance line if your child is staying home, state their symptoms, and contact your building nurse if you have any questions.
In the past 24 hours, has your student had any of the following symptoms?
- Fever (temperature of 100 or above)
- Fatigue
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Shortness of breath
- Congestion
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle/body aches
- Sore throat
- Nausea
- Headache
- Vomiting
- Chills
- Diarrhea
Covid-19 Exposure
Contact within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more within the 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms in a person with COVID-19 or a positive COVID-19 test in an asymptomatic person. This definition is based on the CDC but may vary based on recommendations from the local health department. If there are questions on whether another person was exposed, please contact your local health department or school nurse.
COVID-19 Quarantine
Quarantine for 14 days from last contact with a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. This could be longer than 14 days depending if the person with COVID-19 was unable to isolate from the exposed person (e.g. caregiver and child) or if additional exposure with COVID-19 positive persons occurred (e.g. multiple household members). If a person tests negative for the virus that causes COVID-19 during quarantine, they must still remain in quarantine for 14 days (or longer). Any student exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cannot go to school. If a student is identified as having been exposed and they are already at school, they will be isolated and the parent/caregiver will be called for prompt pickup.
Children who have had a confirmed COVID-19 illness and fully recovered do NOT need to be quarantined if they are subsequently exposed within the next 3 months and do not have symptoms. A positive antibody test does not exempt a student from quarantine.
Quarantine “Q” Room
Every school will have a designated room, separate from the nurse office, used strictly for isolation of suspected COVID-19 cases.
- Any student with symptoms associated with COVID-19 should be sent to the Q room. Notify the school nurse before sending a student to the Q room
- The student must always wear a mask while in the Q room
- Any staff monitoring the Q room will need to be in the proper PPE. According to the CDC, monitors need to wear a surgical mask
Isolation
Isolation separates people who are infected with COVID-19 away from people who are not infected.
COVID-19 Asymptomatic (without symptoms) Isolation
Isolation for at least 10 days from a positive test
COVID-19 Symptomatic (with symptoms) Isolation
- At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
- And at least 24 hours since recovery, defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in symptoms
Any student with COVID-19 symptoms should not go to school. If a student is identified as having or develops COVID-19 symptoms once the student is already at school, they will be isolated and the parent/caregiver will be called for prompt pickup (within 1 hour of the call). The school nurse will determine when a student can return to school.
Identification of a COVID-19 Positive Case
The school and/or school staff may be notified of a COVID-19 positive case prior to the local health department. In this case, the school liaison to the health department will promptly notify the health department where the student resides to report the case. The liaison will confirm what, if any, additional information is needed and to whom it should be provided.
School Case Investigation
School nurses are familiarized with the principles of contact tracing in order to rapidly facilitate identification of exposed students and staff and assist local health departments. All KCPS school nurses have taken The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 contact tracing course.
- Once a student has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the school nurse in charge of contact tracing will identify staff members or students that should be considered exposed based on classroom layouts, schedules, etc.
- The district liaison to the health department will work with the health department to identify any exposed persons
- Schools are prepared to notify any exposed persons so they can be immediately dismissed from school or informed to not return to school until their quarantine is complete
- Schools will notify other students that a person in the school was diagnosed with COVID-19. If a student is considered a close contact, parents will be notified by phone, or letter if unable to reach by phone
- Every effort will be made to keep the identity of the COVID-19 positive person private from other staff and students
- The decision to close a classroom and/or school will be made in conjunction with the local health department
- Current guidelines suggest: should there be over 5% of the student body in a building or district that test positive any day, 4% that test positive over 2 days in a row, or over 3% for 3 days in a row, that the building or district close for 10 days
- Nursing will work with attendance to monitor absences and notify the nurse manager if a school shows a drop of 10% below normal attendance. The nurse manager will notify the health department for guidance
Illness Guidelines
Students and staff will be excluded from school if they test positive for COVID-19 or exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 that are based on CDC guidance and are not otherwise explainable. Symptoms of COVID-19 that will require exclusion:
If they present with a fever of 100 degrees or greater
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Sore throat
- Loss of taste or smell
- Headache
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
- New runny nose or congestion
- Students or staff members who exhibit any of these symptoms should stay home and contact their school nurse or medical care provider for further diagnosis and treatment as appropriate.
- Students who have any medical condition that is similar to any symptom above, must submit a doctor’s note stating the symptoms are related to a medical diagnosis.
Return to School from Illness Guidelines
Non test-based reentry plan (all must apply)
- 10 days have passed since the first symptom appeared
- No fever for 72 hours without the use of fever reducing medication
- Other symptoms have improved
Other explanation reentry plan (all must apply)
- Student or staff has doctor-confirmed explanation of symptoms
- Fever free without fever-reducing medication for 24 hours
- Other symptoms have improved
Isolation Room
- Each school has an isolation room. Isolation rooms will be utilized to keep all students and staff safe from illness.
- The isolation room door will remain open so that the nurse can monitor the student. If the nurse cannot monitor the room, a designated staff member will be assigned to do so.
- The nurse or designated staff member will wear proper PPE. The nurse will meet students at the door of their office for thermometer checks.
- If the student has no fever or symptoms of COVID-19 (based on verbal assessment of the reason for the clinic visit), the student proceeds into the nurse’s office as usual. If the student presents at the nurse’s office with a temporal check of 99.6 degrees or greater, the nurse will take the temperature orally.
- If the temperature is 100 degrees or greater, the nurse will put a mask on the student and send the student into the isolation room.
- The nurse will then call a parent, guardian or other authorized adult to pick up the student in 30 minutes at the Linc door. The parent or guardian will be asked about recent travel in or out of the country by the student and/or members of the household. The nurse will perform a risk evaluation.
- The nurse will advise the parent/guardian to contact the student’s doctor to discuss sign/symptoms and risk factors.
- If there are concerns that any KCPS staff have come in close contact with COVID-19, the nurse will call the Nurse Manager
Disinfecting Protocols
- Door handles and other high touch surfaces will be disinfected throughout the day by Facilities team members.
- Restrooms will be cleaned and disinfected regularly throughout each school day.
- Commonly touched surfaces in large spaces (gyms, fine arts rooms, etc. ) will be avoided by students when possible. Those surfaces, equipment and/or objects will be disinfected before and after use when avoidance is not possible.
- Playgrounds and high-touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars and railings, will be cleaned routinely.
- Custodial staff will disinfect all commonly touched surfaces. End of day will include cleaning and sanitizing of restrooms, teacher desks, student desks, door-knobs, handrails and front office work spaces.
Hand Washing Instructions:
- Wet hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap
- Lather hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails
- Scrub hands for at least 20 seconds. Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end two times
- Rinse hands well under clean, running water
- Dry hands using a clean towel or air dry them
- An alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used if soap and water are not available.
- Using soap and water is more effective than alcohol-based hand sanitizers and should be used whenever possible.
- Apply hand sanitizer product to the palm of one hand (read the label to determine correct amount)
- Rub hands together
- Rub the gel over all the surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.
- This should take around 20 seconds
Sanitation Procedures
- Building/classroom will be cleaned and sanitized daily in high touch areas.
- 20% of the building will be deep cleaned each day, resulting in 100% of the building being deep cleaned by the end of the week
- Building will be deep cleaned each Wednesday when students are at home for virtual instruction.