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Mexico School District 59 on Friday released its plan for reopening for in-person instruction.

The school year starts Aug. 26 and the district consulted multiple agencies, organizations, governmental leaders and received feedback from staff and parent surveys in crafting the plan.

While the reopening plan is in place, the ever-changing public health situation may necessitate revisions, Superintendent Tammy Lupardus wrote in a letter to families.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have dealt with this unprecedented situation,” she wrote.

The district identified six priorities, the plan read. They are increased disinfection efforts, physical distancing, student and staff member protective measures, visitors, students and staff who test positive and remote learning.

HEIGHTENED SANITATION

Custodial staff will undergo heightened training for disinfection and sanitation. Staff will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and MIssouri Department of Health and Senior Services expectations before, during and after school hours, the plan noted.

Custodians, during school hours, will thoroughly clean high-touch surfaces in buildings, including bathrooms, water bottle fill stations, doorknobs, entrance and exit handles, handrails, walls and more.

Classroom staff also will be dedicated to teaching proper hand washing and hygiene, the plan read.

Cleaning materials and hand sanitizer will be available in every classroom. Handwashing stations will be available in classrooms, common areas and at entrances and exits. There will be scheduled hand washing times throughout the school day.

Drinking fountains will be turned off, but refillable water bottle stations can be used for individual drinking containers.

Bus drivers will attend sanitation training and all school buses will be thoroughly sanitized after each route.

Physical distancing will be in place whenever possible. Students will have assigned seating in classrooms, common areas and the bus. Hand sanitizer will be available on buses for students boarding and unloading. It is recommended students in kindergarten through 12th grade wear a mask while riding the bus. Parents who can transport students to and from school are encouraged to do so, according to the plan.

Students will be required to go immediately to designated classrooms upon arrival at school. There will be no congregating in hallways or common areas.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING; MEALS; FACE MASK USAGE

Desks will be spaced as far apart as possible to allow for physical distancing and non-essential furniture, and other soft surfaces, such as carpets and seating will be removed.

Students may eat in classrooms or other common areas in small groups to limit the number of students eating meals in cafeterias. The number allowed in cafeterias will be limited to small groups to minimize exposure.

Other student movement modifications will be made as needed.

Assemblies are not planned unless physical distancing can be maintained and students can remain in limited small groups.

While students in sixth through 12th grade will not be required to wear a face mask during the school day, its use is encouraged.

Staff members are required to wear a mask or face covering when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

Using a face mask or covering will not be prohibited in any instance. Stricter guidelines related to face coverings may be implemented, if necessary.

PRESCREENING; VISITORS; POSITIVE STUDENTS OR STAFF

Students should take some prescreening measures before attending school. They should check for a fever of 100.4 and for any COVID-19 symptoms, such as sore throat, cough that causes difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain or new severe headache, especially with a fever.

Students also should ask if they have had close contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19. Close contact refers to people who were within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes and from 48 hours before the person started feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated. Students also should review if they have traveled to an area where the local health department is reporting large numbers of COVID-19 or live in areas of high community transmission.

Based on how students answer those questions will determine how long they may be required to stay home from school.

Staff members also will have to self screen prior to coming to school district buildings. If a student or staff member displays COVID-19 symptoms at school they will be moved to a designated isolation area in the building to minimize contact with others.

Non-essential visitors and parents will not be permitted past entry vestibules of school buildings. Open House events are canceled. Essential visitors will enter through the main entrance, be required to wear a mask throughout their visit and sign a visitor log, including any students or staff in which they may have contacted.

Visitor restrictions apply during the school day and may differ slightly for outside of school hours.

Students or staff members who test positive must isolate at home for 10 days and be fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications and experience an improvement in symptoms.

Students and staff may be contacted to aid in contact tracing. Those found to be close contacts will be contacted directly by the Audrain County Health Department. They will have to quarantine at home for 14 days to monitor for symptoms. Families will be notified as soon as possible if a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19. If a school building has to be closed, all activities associated with that building will be canceled or rescheduled.

REMOTE LEARNING

Parents wishing to continue to remote learning can do so through Edgenuity, an online education platform used by Mexico Public Schools. Parents can enroll now through 4 p.m. Aug. 14. Detailed enrollment information may take up to two weeks to arrive.

Students who enroll in remote learning will have from Aug. 26 to Sept. 7 to transfer back to in-seat instruction, if desired. Students must remain in the Edgenuity program, otherwise for the entire semester.

Students can return to in-person enrollment for the second semester, if desired. Further remote learning information is available in the district’s reopening plan on its website.

nav-oc Naviga Writer 2020-08-03T16:25:18Z false yes NEWS The Mexico Ledger Momex-080520-news-school-reopen