DAYTON–Dayton School District administration plans to start the 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, August 25 and has developed a restart plan to accommodate COVID-19-prevention practices, first-year Superintendent/Elementary Principal Guy Strot announced recently. The plan introduced on August 6 and reviewed at a Community Meeting August 10 is a work-in-progress and subject to modification, Strot says.

A second Community Meeting via Zoom Monday, August 17, 3 p.m. to explain the plans, address questions and hear concerns. Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman will join Strot in the meeting.

"This is a challenging time," Strot wrote in the Reopening Plan published on the school's website. "I want to thank the staff of Dayton School District for wanting the students back in school and spending a great deal of time in building this plan.

"We are happy to report that all students will be able to attend school all five days," Strot said.

A staggered opening for this school year. Tentative plans indicate that K-1st, Sixth and Ninth grades will attend the first day, August 25, Second-Third grades, and Seventh and Tenth grades will attend the second day, August 26, and Fourth-Fifth, and Eighth and grades 11-12 will attend the third day, August 27. All students will attend starting on day four, August 28.

A number of changes are being planned:

-School ending times have changed.

-Dayton School District will provide any K-12student with distance learning if that is the preference or requirement.

"We have contacted most parents, but not all," Strot said. "If you need distance learning from home for your student and we have not talked, please call the office at 382-2543." Strot may also be contacted via email at [email protected].

Three key state health mandates are required:

-All students and staff will wear a face-covering except when a doctor's note or an IEP allows the exception.

-All classrooms will be set up to maintain six-foot physical distancing protocols.

-All staff and students will have their temperature checked every morning.

Should a student or staff become ill, he or she may not return to campus until fever-free for 72 hours and be tested negative for COVID-19. If the person opts not to be tested, he or she must stay away an additional 10 days.

Sustained school operation will hinge on the prevalence of COVID cases in the community. Six positive diagnoses in any two-week period, whether or not connected with the school, will force school closure and conversion to distance-learning systems.

"We have split the plan into categories," Strot said. "These plans, especially those regarding safety, will change and become more complete over the next two weeks."

"The goal will be to go back to a regular schedule as soon as the threat of the virus is less intense," Strot indicates in the plan. "We could switch back at any time, but are hopeful for a return at the start of the second semester."

Cleaning: New equipment and extra supplies have been ordered and administrators are considering hiring an extra custodian to help with the cleaning. Various employees will at times be involved in cleaning. Students will also be responsible for cleaning. In each classroom, as a student enters, they can grab a Kleenex, gloves, hand sanitizer, or a cleaning wipe near the door. At the Elementary, teachers and students can use these supplies as needed. The same applies at the middle and high school but, at every period change, every middle and high school student entering the classroom will grab a wipe and sanitize the desk before sitting down. 

Master Schedule: The Elementary School will be released at 2 p.m. All teachers will have a planning time from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Rather than have the Elementary's three specialists come during the day so the classroom teachers can have planning time, teachers are asked to work until 2 p.m. with no planning time so the specialists may be redeployed to support students.

We will still have PE and music but in partnership with the classroom teachers. The classroom teachers will be able to provide intervention to some students during PE and music time. The classroom teachers will be able to join with the specialists at times.

There will be no dedicated computer teacher this year. Instead, she will be our K-5 distance learning teacher, and staff resource for technology to aid in both classroom projects as well as distance learning; in the event school is closed.

All Elementary students will be required to read for 30 minutes each school night.

At the Elementary School, meals will be taken in classrooms. At the middle and high school, this is much more difficult because of limited staff and because lunch period creates the perfect situation for the virus to take hold in our school and community: 30 minutes when 200 students are not wearing masks every day with very little monitoring.

Teachers are willing to create a flipped classroom, where they will provide instruction in the classroom and tasks, projects, and the use of creativity at home. For this reason, the middle and high school will be released at 12:30 p.m. each day.

Buses will pick up at both 12:30 and 2 p.m.

Both middle and high school students will be able to stay and work until 2 p.m. in a staffed area such as the high school library. Both middle- and high-school students will also be able to work with a teacher from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. High school students may be allowed time for extended projects in AG, metal shop, woodshop, or computer lab from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Work at home will complement the learning at school. This opportunity would allow us to teach or instill 21st Century skills such as planning, time management, perseverance, self-direction, self-discipline, problem-solving, technology, etc.

At the middle school / high school, either a three-period or four-period schedule each day is being considered. With a three-period day, each period would be about 75 minutes long and students would only need to move twice during the day. Students would attend periods 1, 2 and 3 on one day, periods 4, 5 and 6 the next day and alternate. A four-period day would be slightly different. We will implement a four-period day if we cannot fit all classes into a six-period day, given the requirement of all desks needing to be six feet apart.

Students on an IEP: Plans for students who are eligible for special education will be made on an individual basis through the IEP process. Partnerships with parents and general education staff will be critical parts of our planning. We are working to find new ways to accommodate and serve students in this challenging time. At this time, we will not be implementing a student's Continuous Learning Plan; we will be implementing your student's IEP, which may need amendments. Your student's special education case manager will be in contact with you to start COVID instructional programming.

Students in Title 1 and LAP: We will continue to serve students in Title 1 and LAP. The exact model is still to be determined. 

Classroom: Keeping classrooms clean will be the primary responsibility of our custodians and the teacher, but students will need to help. Students will need to remain six feet apart. Students will need to wear their mask and / or face shield (this may change because of new state requirements). At the Elementary level, if a student needs to remove the mask for a few minutes and they are six feet apart, they may do so with the teacher's permission. The key is six feet apart or 15 minutes. Teachers will be able to move around the room and get within a foot or two of a student to help them, or to have a conversation.

For student activities and lessons in the classroom, teachers will be able to have an activity where students get closer than six feet, but not for more than 15 minutes and masks will be required.

Breakfast and Lunch: Breakfast will be "Grab and Go" for all students. All elementary students are entitled to a free breakfast and lunch. Middle and high students who qualify may receive a free and/or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch. Elementary students will eat breakfast in the multi-purpose room and practice physical distancing. Middle and high school students will be eating breakfast in the high school gym.

Lunch will also be "Grab and Go," with students remaining in the classroom at the grade school (K-2 may eat in the cafeteria) and lunches will be delivered. Extra garbage cans will be in classrooms and the hallways. Trash will be picked up directly after lunches from all classrooms. 

The process at the start of school: All grade school students will enter through the front doors where their temperature will be taken and that they are feeling okay is verified. They can go to the multi-purpose room and eat breakfast or go outside until class begins.

Middle school students are required to enter through the south door of the middle school, and high school students will enter through the front door of the high school. For example, if you are a high school student in first-period AG, you must first check in at the front door of the high school then go to AG. Similarly, if you are a middle school student and have a first period class at the high school, you still must enter through the middle school. 

The district has purchased a device that automatically check individual's temperature, monitored by a staff member. If a student's temperature is above 100.4° F., he or she will be taken to an isolation room in the grade school or middle-high school.

The isolation rooms are being created this summer. We are going to use the existing offices. At the Elementary School, it will be a "friendly place" as this may be scary for a student if they have a temperature.

The temperature devices have facial recognition. The system is a closed system so no pictures of students will be "in the cloud." The system will generate a report at the start of school of students who did not get checked. Any potential absences will be verified and if the student neglected to be checked and are in the classroom, he or she will immediately be removed from class. 

 The process at the end of school: At the end of the day, all middle- and high-school students will clean their desks with a cleaning wipe. At the elementary, the teacher to determine a cleaning procedure.

The students at the middle and high school will take their Chromebook or laptop home. At the grade school, they will put their laptop back in the Chrome cart.

Students will be able to stay after school with any teacher if the teacher has approved, following the six feet and 15-minute rules.

Students will not be able to hang out in the hallways. The Club plans on opening and we will have a bus that runs to The Club after school. 

What happens when someone gets sick, tests positive: If a staff member or student gets sick, they cannot return until they have had no fever for 72 hours and if they choose not to get a COVID test, for an additional 10 days. If they get a test, and it is negative, they can return after they have had no fever for 72 hours without taking any medication to reduce fever.

If a staff member or student tests positive, the Health Department takes the lead and conduct contact tracing. The scenario is the same whether the staff member or student gets sick at school and tests positive, or is home over the weekend or at night or anytime, gets sick and tests positive. The Health Department will do contact tracing and anyone who was within six feet of that staff member or student for more than 15 minutes will also have to get tested or be excluded from attending school. 

Information directly from the State Department of Health will be sent home on safety.

Staying home when sick and process to come back: All staff and students, if not feeling well, need to stay home. If presenting any of the COVID-19 symptoms, stay home, and if they get worse, get tested. 

Students not attending in person school: Students not attending in-person school will fall into two categories. The first will be distance learning with the Dayton School District. The second will be the home school where students will withdraw from Dayton School District. If a student is signed up for distance learning with the School District, they will have a primary teacher assigned to them and other teachers potentially as a backup. Plans still being developed and student numbers will determine further exploration.

Social-Emotional Needs: We will be intentional in the first two weeks of school. Many students will struggle as we transition back to a regular school day. They will have been out of the classroom for five months. There may be anxiety, depression, lack of work ethic, enthusiasm for being back and learning, and many other challenges and emotions. There will also be anxiety over wearing a mask, dealing with the virus, and having education so greatly disrupted. Both staff and students will feel this and support will be provided as needed.

Distance Learning Plan 2.0 (in case or when infections hit our community)

Because of the dramatic rise in infections in different parts of the nation, combined with may be a difficult winter ahead, a solid distance-learning plan for every teacher is crucial. We are a small community and we could go from "everything's fine" to school shutting down in a day or two. We need to be prepared.

The state will measure positive cases to determine whether the school should stay open. It will take only six positive cases over any two-week period, within the entire community, to shut down schools for a period of time. None of those cases need to be connected to the school for the school to be forced to shut down.

Teachers will view online or distance learning as part of their overall strategy. Distance learning will be part of a flipped classroom. Teachers will have curriculum, projects, materials, etc. that the student does at home that complements what is being taught in the classroom. If we are out for a week or two, and then back to the classroom, it makes the transitions much better for student learning. We will integrate the CORE 4 of Google Classroom, Google Drive, Screencastify and Google Meets.

Each teacher will decide what the curriculum and lessons will be for their students, but we will work as a team to create an organized system for parents and students. Distance learning this school year will be different from the spring in that assignments will be graded and grades earned.

We will strive to not overburden students but at the same time, we will have expectations. If students complete no work when we are at home in distance learning, they will receive an F on these assignments. We will work with all students to provide an equitable learning environment.

Parents are asked to contact the school if, during a transition to distance learning, anything is needed. This also applies to snow days, so we do not have to make up days at the end of the school year.

Depending upon guidance from the state and Columbia County Public Health, we may continue to have all staff come to work and some students continue coming to school during a school shutdown.

Technology Needs of staff and students: Each student will be given a Chromebook for use throughout the year. At the grade school, these laptops will be stored in a chrome cart in every classroom. The teacher, at their discretion, may check out the laptops to the individual students. Students cannot trade laptops. Every grade school student is assigned the same laptop all year. At the middle and high school, we will check out laptops just like textbooks. The main office will have spare laptops that can be checked out if the student left their laptop at home. Teachers will have a few spares as well.

Each teacher will be given a document camera/web camera device. This can be used both in the classroom as well as remotely if in distance learning. Teachers can record lessons with this device and the video can be uploaded to Google Classroom. This allows students to view the lesson later on their laptops if they are in school and it may be used as a tool to help students who must or choose to stay home with distance learning all year.

Athletics and Extracurricular Activities: WIAA has rearranged the sports seasons this year. There will be four seasons this year. The traditional fall sports will occur in season 3 in the spring. There are no fall sports. At this point, season 2 sports (traditional winter sports) are due to start in mid-December. Nothing is definite about extracurricular activities such as FFA and Knowledge Bowl. Guidance from the state says we need to be in phase 4 with virtually no positive cases within the previous two weeks to even consider sports.

The First Two weeks of School: All teachers will take some time during the first two weeks of school to help get all students settled in as best they can while finding their needs and letting them know we all care and are here for them. We will address issues that are important to them as well as teach important reminders such as handwashing and how to do it correctly. These topics will be delivered in person as well as via video. Our hope is by "easing in" the rest of the school year will go more smoothly for our students. We will also "distance learn" while in the classroom to practice what we are asking them to do when and if we are back in distance learning. Students will visualize they are at the kitchen table while in the classroom and complete tasks and projects.

A staggered opening for this school year. Final details will be released next week. At this point K-1st, Sixth and Ninth grades will attend the first day, August 25, Second-Third grades, and Seventh and Tenth grades will attend the second day, August 26, and Fourth-Fifth, and Eighth and grades 11-12 will attend the third day, August 27. All students will attend starting on day four, August 28.

August 20 Inservice on Safety: All staff will be learning about and discussing safety with both Columbia County Public Health and the Columbia County Health System the entire day of August 20. We are taking staff and student safety seriously. Details of this will be provided soon.

Square Footage and number of students: The square footage of grade school classrooms have been calculated and all students can attend school all five days and be six feet apart while in the classroom.

The square footage at the middle and high school was measured and figures ensure the six-foot requirement can be met while building the master schedule. The master schedule will be completed before registration begins.

Transportation: We will continue to offer regular bus transportation. We will have hand sanitizer available for those who want it when boarding the bus. Masks will be required for all students except with a doctor's note. We will not be taking the temperature of students as they enter the bus. We will seat families together and keep students six feet apart as best we can but as we enter town for pickups, this will not be possible in many situations.