Each school entity is required to identify a pandemic coordinator and/or pandemic team with defined roles and responsibilities for health and safety preparedness and response planning during the phased reopening of schools. The pandemic coordinator and team will be responsible for facilitating the local planning process, monitoring implementation of your local Health and Safety Plan, and continued monitoring of local health data to assess implications for school operations and potential adjustments to the Health and Safety Plan throughout the school year. To ensure a comprehensive plan that reflects the considerations and needs of every stakeholder in the local education community, LEAs are encouraged to establish a pandemic team to support the pandemic coordinator. Inclusion of a diverse group of stakeholders is critical to the success of planning and implementation. LEAs are highly encouraged to make extra effort to engage representatives from every stakeholder group (i.e., administrators, teachers, support staff, students, families, community health official or other partners), with a special focus on ensuring that the voices of underrepresented and historically marginalized stakeholder groups are prioritized.
PDE Considerations
Identify a staff member to serve in the role as the pandemic coordinator.
Identify members of staff and community to serve on a pandemic team to lead preparedness and response planning.
Define the roles and responsibilities of all members of the team.
Survey families within the school community regarding their perceptions and intentions related to in-person instruction and services.
NEPA Task Force Considerations
Select a point person to serve as the liaison between Department of Health, PDE and other agencies to provide updates to the pandemic team.
Review and update your Emergency Operations Plan to address newly emerging infectious disease outbreaks.
Determine mission critical actions and assign responsible staff.
Consider academic/extra and co-curricular policies through the lens of your particular re-entry plan.
Utilize school nurses at part of the pandemic team.