Reopening Schools

July 27, 2020

 U.S.D. 108 has been working diligently to make plans to provide in-person schooling starting August 19, 2020.  Pending no increased cases of COVID-19 in Washington County, school WILL start on Wednesday, August 19 with an 11:30 dismissal.

 Our plans will allow students to have as normal a day as possible within the restrictions and guidelines as established by the Washington County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  At this time, we will have school for the regular schedule of 7:55 a.m. to 3:12 p.m.  The elementary and secondary schools will be sending building-specific schedules at a later date.  If new guidelines are announced before August 19, we will adjust our schedule and plans accordingly.

  • Mask Use –
    • All students will wear a mask while riding the bus and while in school. 
    • Masks will be provided for the students and left at school at the end of the day to be washed. 
    • Students should NOT bring their own masks.  However, as we move through the first semester, we may allow students in grades 7-12 to bring their own masks.
    • Preschool students are exempt from wearing masks while at school but will wear them on the bus.
    • All adults will wear masks at school.
    • We realize there may be some students that will be unable to wear a mask for a variety of reasons.    These cases will be handled on an individual level by the building administrator in consultation with the school nurse.
    • Students will not have to wear masks during recess, PE, athletic practices or athletic contests.


  • Temperature Checks –
    • Students' temperatures will be taken upon arriving at school or getting on the bus.
    • Temperatures will not be recorded.
    • Temperatures will be taken at the point of entering the building or getting on the bus.
    • A temperature of 100 degrees will be the cut-off for acceptance into the school that day.
    • Please, if your child wakes with a fever, do not send them to school.
  • CUSTODIAL
    • Sanitizing –
      • Students and staff will sanitize hands on an hourly basis.
      • The school will purchase hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes for classrooms.
      • Rooms will be sprayed with disinfectant mist at the end of every day. Hard surfaces/desks will be wiped down every morning.
    • The ice machine will be off-limits to students. 
    • Sanitizing stations will be placed at all building entrances, all classroom entrances, and all locker rooms.
    • Extra precautions will be taken to disinfect thoroughly throughout the day.


  • LUNCHROOM –
    • Students will attend lunch in the following groups: K-1; 2-3; 4-6; 7-8; 9-10; 11-12.
    • Lunch starts with Kindergarten and first grade at 11:00 a.m.
    • There will be 4 students at each table in the lunchroom.  There are 20 tables, so there is a maximum of 80 students in the cafeteria at one time.
    • Sneeze guards and other shields will be in place. 
    • The “all you can eat fruit and salad bar” will not be in place.  Salads and fruit will be served by the kitchen workers.
    • We will continue to use hard plastic trays and they will be washed and sterilized every day.
    •  We will use disposable silverware.
    •  Condiments will be in individual packets except for grades K-2 where we will have an employee provide this for the students.
    • There will be 6’ distancing lines on the floor for the lunch line
    • Grab and Go breakfast will have two locations in the high school to lessen group gatherings.
    • Because the KSDE guidance discourages students from leaving the school once they have arrived for the day, Open Lunch will not be able to occur until further notice.
    • Students may bring lunch from home if they wish.
    • Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate parents at our monthly birthday lunch.  We will continue to celebrate our student’s birthdays during the first Wednesday of the month with a special menu.


  • TRANSPORTATION –
    • We are providing an extra person on each bus route for the first few weeks of school to help monitor and provide assistance to the bus driver.
    • Students will have temperature taken and issued a mask on the bus.
    • Seats will be assigned and students will be grouped by family.
    • Buses will drop off at high school entrance and playground entrance for elementary.


  • MISCELLANEOUS-
    • Water bottles will be provided by the district. Students in grades 7-12 may bring their own water bottles. 
    • All water fountains have been replaced with refillable water bottle systems with filters.
    • Student masks will be provided by the district
    • Classroom doors are to remain OPEN
    • Please do not bring any toys from home.
    • Locker usage will be discouraged at the secondary level.  At the elementary level, students will only be going to the locker at the beginning of school and the end of the day.


  • ATHLETICS and ACTIVITIES
    • The specific details concerning each athletic program we have in place for the fall will be sent at a later date.
    • Back to School Night scheduled for August 18 will NOT be held.
    • Parents will not be allowed into the buildings on the first day of school, except for Kindergarten parents and the parents of any new students.


  • Nurse Lisa will provide information to better understand the protocol when it comes to quarantines, direct contact, contact tracing, and the importance of our masks, social distancing, and all other measures. 


  • If your student’s education is interrupted this school year, please note these are the state guidelines for continuing education at home: 
  1. Students will be assessed by the same standards as the others in the class. 
  2. Students must have DAILY contact with all teachers. 
  3. Students will need to maintain a DAILY log of activities. A log will be provided by the school. A parental signature will be required for all activities on the log.
  4. Students need to spend the same amount of time “in school” as a normal school day.
  5. Schooling at home will NOT look like it did the last nine weeks of the 19-20 school year.

 

The elementary and secondary schools will be sending specific changes that pertain to their building at a later time. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask any administrator or the school nurse.  Our contact information is:

Denise O’Dea                   Superintendent                           dodea@usd108.org

Brock Funke                    JH/HS Principal                             bfunke@usd108.org

Amy Hoover                     Elementary Principal                 ahoover@usd108.org

Lisa Ouellette                  School Nurse                                 louellette@usd108.org