• Per the guidelines put forth by New York State, Sackets Harbor CSD will develop communication plans for students, parents/guardians, staff & faculty, and visitors regarding protocols and guidelines to help stem the possible spread of COVID-19.

• A representative stakeholder group was contacted prior to the development of the Reopening Plan for 2021. This group included school administration, a board member, the district's medical director, school nurse, a parent, a student, an elementary teacher, a secondary teacher, a special area teacher, a special education representative, a school counselor, as well as our building and grounds supervisor, transportation supervisor, and food service supervisor. The names of participants are listed on our home page.

• Signage has been posted in entrances, hallways, and all occupied spaces providing the necessary health/safety guidance and expectations to adhere to CDC and DOH guidance regarding use of PPE, when social distancing cannot be maintained.

• The District will notify the school community on a weekly basis via Parent Square to inform about positive cases.

Priority Statements

• Students benefit most from in-person learning, and safely maintaining fulltime in-person instruction is a priority.

• Layered strategies to prevent the spread of the virus and keep our school safe will be used such as promoting vaccination, offering COVID-19 at-home test kits (as inventory permits), teaching and reinforcing hand washing/hygiene practices, mandating that students, staff, and visitors stay home when sick, and regular cleaning/disinfecting of occupied spaces. Other layers may be implemented as needed such as masking (required in days 6-10 after testing positive for COVID-19 and suggested in other situations), physical distancing, screening/testing.

Vaccination

• Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to manage COVID-19.

• The District will assist the County in disseminating information about vaccination availability: https://co.jefferson.ny.us/departments/PublicHealth/COVID-19Vaccine

• The District can and will serve as a vaccination site and coordinate a clinic if enough people are interested. Please notify the school nurse if interested.

• The District may inquire about students' or workers' COVID-19 vaccination status information to inform prevention strategies consistent with applicable laws. At this time, the sharing of this information will be voluntary.

Masking

• Effective March 2, 2022, the statewide requirement for universal masking expired with one exception. Masking continues to be required upon return from isolation during days 6 through 10 after COVID-19 infection.

• Masking will remain optional and encouraged for anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a face covering.

• Please refer to SHCSD's Mask Choice Transition Plan.

• Masking, regardless of vaccination status, is strongly recommended for 10 days after a known exposure.

• NYSDOH recommends staff, students, and teachers wear masks when:

  • They feel more comfortable wearing a mask for personal reasons

  • They were in the same room within the school as someone diagnosed with COVID-19 for 15 minutes or longer and were thus exposed.

  • or potentially expose, when group contact tracing is used.

  • They are known to have been exposed to COVID-19 in any setting within the previous 10 days.

  • They are moderately to severely immunocompromised and have discussed the need to mask with their healthcare provider.

Physical Distancing

• At this time, the District is not requiring physical distancing. However, if we experience an increase in COVID-19 cases, physical distancing requirements may be implemented.

Daily Self- and/or Parental Health Screening

• The District strongly encourages faculty, staff, and parents/guardians to self-screen or screen their child/ren regularly. The District may institute a daily screening protocol if rates increase within the district.

• Students, teachers, and staff should stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness and be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and care.

• Any student or staff member with a temperature of 100°F or higher must remain at home. If one arrives at school and then discovers a temperature of 100°F or higher, the school nurse will be contacted to conduct an evaluation in the Isolation Room and that person will be sent home with guidance provided by our school nurse.

Symptoms of COVID-19:

• Faculty, staff, students, and parents/caregivers will be provided with information/training about the symptoms of COVID-19.

• Parents are asked to keep their child at home if the child exhibits any of the symptoms listed below.

• COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • new onset cough

  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • fatigue

  • fever (100°F or higher)

  • chills

  • muscle or body aches

  • headaches

  • congestion or runny nose

  • sore throat

  • loss of smell and taste

  • gastrointestinal symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, or nausea

District Actions if a Student or Staff Presents Themselves with Potential COVID-19 Symptoms:

• Students, teachers, and staff who have symptoms of infectious illness should stay home and be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and care, regardless of vaccination status. Depending on the availability of COVID-19 antigen testing kits onsite, the school nurse may be able to offer diagnostic testing to be administered right here at SHCS.

• If a faculty member, staff member, or student exhibits one of the symptoms, they must be excluded from school, regardless of vaccination status and either (a) provide a negative COVID test result, or (b) remain excluded from school.

• If a student, teacher, or staff symptoms are improving AND they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicines, they may return to school with either a note from a healthcare provider indicating the test was negative or a copy of the negative test result.

• There is no exemption for symptomatic vaccinated people.

• The District may require a negative COVID-19 test prior to the return to school if a student or staff member experiences a symptom of COVID-19. The list of local testing sites can be found here: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you

• Sackets Harbor CSD will offer diagnostic testing using antigen COVID-19 test kits as long as the inventory remains healthy.

Return to School or Work after Illness or Diagnosis of COVID-19:

• The District will utilize the What to Do if a Student Becomes Sick or Reports a New COVID-19 Diagnosis at School (above) to direct our response plan.

• The District will work collaboratively with Public Health to monitor infection spread in our local area and make determinations about a reduction to in-person education or closing the school. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/

Sackets Harbor CSD's Contract Tracing Plan

• Based on updated guidance from the CDC and Jefferson County Public Health, universal contact tracing is no longer needed in settings such as schools. Positive individuals in any setting are advised to notify their close contacts.

• SHCSD will continue to implement isolation and quarantine protocols as outlined by the local health department. When an outbreak is identified, as with any infectious illness, we will follow our usual processes of contact tracing and quarantine accordingly.

• If a positive case is identified, impacted areas (ie. classroom, bathroom, bus) will be disinfected.

Additional Health and Safety Protocols

• COVID-19 prevention strategies remain critical to protect people, including students, teachers, and staff, who are not fully vaccinated, especially in areas of moderate-to-high community transmission levels.

  • The District will promote frequent and thorough hand washing, encourage students and staff to stay home if they are sick, and discourage students and staff from using other person's phones, desks, offices, computers, devices, etc...

  • Parents, students and staff will be trained in recognizing signs of illness and will be expected to contact the school nurse if symptomatic during the school day. An informational flier will be shared with parents.

  • Windows and doors will be left open if safe and appropriate to do so.

  • Cleaning supplies will be available in every occupied space in our school and will be inventoried regularly.

  • The appropriate PPE for students and staff, including the school nurse, will be available and inventoried regularly.

  • The District purchased additional electrostatic sprayers. These disinfecting devices will be used consistently throughout the school day on buses and in occupied spaces.

  • A supervised isolation room has been established to separate ill children and staff from others.

  • Jennifer Gaffney is the District's COVID-19 Safety Coordinator. She can be reached at 315-646-3575 or at jgaffney@sacketspatriots.org.

  • The District will adhere to all CDC guidance relating to cleaning and disinfecting practices.

  • All required safety and security drills will be carried out in the 2022-2023 school year. Appropriate social distancing and face covering expectations will be adhered to.

• The District may make efforts to reduce the occupant loads for people entering the building (i.e., visitor limitations) depending on local transmission rates.

• Windows and doors will be left open if appropriate and safe to do so.

• Ventilation has been reviewed and improved in areas in need.

• Hand sanitizer dispensers have been placed in each occupied space where there is no sink and soap.

• Cleaning supplies have been provided to each classroom to allow classroom occupants to regularly clean and sanitize their space.

• Cleaning and disinfection protocols have been established to ensure adherence to CDC guidance. All cleaning and disinfection will be logged and tracked to identify frequency.

• All faculty and staff will be trained in cleaning and disinfection best practices.

• Signage has been placed throughout our building and grounds.

• Any change or addition to our facilities will comply with the requirements of the 2020 New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code and State Energy Conservation Code. All changes will be submitted to Office of Facilities Planning, if applicable.

• If our facility has had a sick person or someone who tests positive for COVID-19, the staff will clean and disinfect the space prior to reuse.

• The federal government's free meal program ended effective June 30, 2022. Families will be asked to complete the Free and Reduced paperwork to determine qualifications for free or reduced meals.

• Schedules will be created to allow for the necessary time for hand hygiene and students will be trained in proper procedures.

• The sharing of food and beverages will be discouraged.

• The District will include measures to protect students with food allergies.

• District will ensure compliance with Child Nutrition Program requirements.

• Parents/legal guardians are strongly encouraged to drop off or walk students to school to reduce density on buses.

• A parent/caregiver must accompany any child under the age of 12 to the school bus.

• Bus seats and high contact spots will be wiped down and disinfected after each bus run.

• Buses will be equipped with disposable masks and gloves. Hand sanitizer on the school bus is not permitted.

• Windows will be kept open when possible/reasonable.

• Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is critical as we re-engage students, support adults, rebuild relationships, and create a foundation for academic learning. The District will clearly and consistently communicate to staff, students, families and the community that social emotional well-being and learning are our priority.

• The District has increased in-person SEL supports for our school community via increased mental health support and the implementation of the Sackets Support Center.

• Positivity Project and Sources of Strength will continue to be implemented in 2022-2023.

• The District will create emotionally and physically safe, supportive and engaging learning environments that promote students’ social and emotional development.

• The District will be attentive to learner's mental health and social-emotional needs, as learners may cope with fear about returning and other traumas from before and during the pandemic.

• A Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Team has been established to inform our school counseling program and practices. Members of this Team include the principal, school counselor, school psychologist, PIVOT counselor, a teacher representative, and student representatives.

• The District will train faculty and staff on recognizing the signs of struggle in students and colleagues and refer for the necessary support.

• The first step toward equity is providing, as much as possible, the technology and connectivity to students and families.

• The District's Annual Update will require parents/guardians to provide information about their Internet access at home.

• Registration Packet now includes a questionnaire seeking information on each family's level of access to devices and high-speed internet at their residences.

• The District will assign a Chromebook to each student in Grades K-12 for the 2021-2022 school year. Students and parents will need to complete an Equipment Sign Out Form.

• The District will be prepared to "pivot" to virtual teaching and learning on a temporary basis, if needed.

• The District will assist families in obtaining sufficient technology capacity to participate in the learning experiences and demonstrate mastery of learning standards. This may include, but is not limited to, securing and disseminating hot spots and data and other devices.