COVID-19 Operational Guidelines and Protocols

Provides district and school leaders with general guidelines and protocols for establishing and maintaining safe school environments that reduce the risk of COVID-19 virus spread. Each school, in coordination with their district, will have the flexibility to implement the guidelines and protocols in a manner that best meets the health and safety needs of the school staff and students while minimizing the impact on teaching and learning.

The Pacific East District has had a positive impact on preventing the spread of COVID-19 as evidenced by:

• • Adhering to Department of Defense regulations to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus

  • Establishing processes, procedures, and policies regarding the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Providing resources, materials, and support to schools to mitigate the spread of COVID and allow DoDEA Pacific East to remain face-to-face most of the 2020-2021 school year, leading to higher student achievement

As of January 7, 2022, the employee COVID-19 vaccination tracker included 1490 employees. Of those 1490 employees, 44 have requested vaccination exemptions and will be tested weekly. The first testing kits were received and used the week of January 17, 2022.

Schools in DoDEA Pacific East District remained in the Brick and Mortar setting for longer periods of time than in the other DoDEA districts. Our ability to remain brick and mortar appears to be due to the procedures and regulations followed in the schools and in the local communities. Ultimately, local military commands have final say in whether schools will remain in session in the brick and mortar setting.

Pacific East District has the fewest students attending DoDEA Virtual School compared to other DoDEA districts. Many families tried it, but when the brick and mortar schools were able to remain open and the community spread of COVDI-19 remained relatively low, many families chose to have their students return to the brick and mortar schools for the 2021-2022 school-year.

DoDEA Headquarters (HQ)

• Pandemic Emergency Planning DoDEA and Federal Education Association (FEA) - Memorandum of Understanding (16 FEB 2010)

• Memorandum: Teacher Status - School Closures: District Superintendents are authorized to provide notification and direction to teachers regarding where and when to report when schools are closed to students (11 MAR 2020)

• Travel Guidance to all DoDEA staff (13 MAR 2020)

• COVID-19 Contact Tracing Record (April 2020)

• Creation of DoDEA COVID-19 website: https://www.dodea.edu/Coronavirus.cfm.

• DoDEA Virtual School (DVS) added K-8 to their already 9-12 availability. Staff from brick and mortar schools were borrowed to support DVS

• Return to School: An Overview of Equitable Practices for Special Education and Student Support Services: DoDEA developed this guidance to support school personnel assigned to the provision of services that meet the unique needs of unique students (19 AUG 2020).

• DoDEA Prescreening Protocol and Acknowledgement for Adults (19 AUG 2020)

• DoDEA COVID-19 Operational Guidelines and Protocols for Schools, Version Companion Guide, Summary of Changes from Version II to Version III (25 AUG 2020)

• Leave Options Available for COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Absences This document provides potential situations that may occur during the COVID-19 Pandemic and leave options supervisors are authorized to approve. This guide does not include all possible scenarios that may require an employee’s need to request leave from duty (25 AUG 2020)

• Section 504 Meeting Minutes between HQ and District ISSes- The meeting provided guidance for districts on how to address 504 plans. (26 AUG 2020)

• Meeting Minutes between HQ and District School psychology/504/school nursing ISSes. The meeting provided an update on the current status of DVS. (2 SEP 2020)

• DoDEA Student Services. Best Practices for Remote Learning in Special Education and Student Support Services In response to the evolving needs discovered by our schools as they respond to and recover from the recent and ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this guidance is intended to support district, community, and school leaders' continuity plans for student support services in a remote learning environment. The spirit of this guidance centers on our agency’s overarching expectation that student support services will be provided equitably, and in a way that maximizes access without posing undue risk to students, staff, schools, or the agency. (SEP 2020).

• Athletics Extracurricular, DoDEA guidelines for Reopening - HPCON B vs. 8: To provide the way forward for DoDEA schools in designing return-to-activity protocols in accordance with local restrictions (SEP 2020)

• DoDEA Students with Current Section 504 Plan in ASPEN Enrolling in DVS Flowchart (9 SEP 2020)

• Memorandum for DoDEA Employees, DoDEA Virtual School Update and Second Semester Planning, (29 OCT 2020)

• DoDEA COVID-19 Operational Guidelines and Protocols for Schools, Version Companion Guide, Summary of Changes from Version III to Version IV (DEC 2020)

• DoDEA COVID-19 Operational Guidelines and Protocols for Schools Version IV (8 DEC 2020)

• DoDEA Home-based Screening Acknowledgement for Visitors and Volunteers (2 DEC 2020)

• Information for DoDEA EMployees on the DoD COVID-19 Immunization Program (JAN 2021)

Pacific East District

• Letter to Parents and Staff - Letter outlines postponement of events that involve student travel (26 FEB 2020)”

• Communicated with school nurses about ordering supplies in response to COVID-19 Pandemic (28 FEB 2020)

• Provided Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) A Parent Resource by NASP and NASN (29 FEB 2020)

• The DSO developed “Emergency Closure Plans” with several folders and files of information (28 FEB 2020)

  • Complex Emergency Closure Plan Guide (28 FEB 2020)

  • Staff Childcare Requirements - for planning purposes (28 FEB 2020)

  • Lesson Plan Examples and Guides:

    • Example Lesson Plan - 1st Grade Math (28 FEB 2020)

    • Grade K GO Math Tech and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

    • Grade 1 GO Math and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

    • Grade 2 GO Math and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

    • Grade 3 GO Math and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

    • Grade 4 GO Math and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

    • Grade 5 GO Math and Vocab Guide (3 MAR 2020)

• Educational Technologists (ET) Preparedness Briefing Agenda (4 MAR 2020)

• Administrators were provided guidance regarding the availability of Google Classrooms for the remainder of the year (6 MAR 2020)

• K-2 Student Access to G Suite (Closed Vs. Open Schools) (11 MAR 2020)

• Provided suggestions to school nurses for what they could do when students are not in the building (11 MAR 2020)

• Ideas to Incorporate Developmentally Appropriate Teaching Strategies (13 MAR 2020)

• Parent Letter - Letter to parents in Pacific East addressing concerns in the community about DoDEA schools in Japan remaining open (13 MAR 2020)

• Letter to Parents and Staff - Letter from DoDEA Pacific East regarding the temporary closing of schools (19 MAR 2020).Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (19 MAR 2020)

• Educational Technology (ET) ISS - Meeting Minutes - timeline shared, expect to hear about virtual instruction and expectations, plans for Monday’s school-wide training, home learning, etc. (20 MAR 2020)

• Emergency Closure Taskings, listing DSO points of contact for each task (24 MAR 2020)

• Pacific East Educators were provided with suggested apps to support submitting assignments as PDFs (27 MAR 2020)

• Elementary Online Learning Guidelines - Sample (31 MAR 2020)

• Secondary Online Learning Guidelines - Sample (31 MAR 2020)

• Pac East Transition to Home Learning Parking Lot (Google Form) Pacific East Educators had the ability to pose questions regarding the transition to remote learning

  • Essential/Driving Questions regarding COVID-19 and content standards (17 APR 2020)

• The DSO developed and disseminated training for teachers to transition to remote instruction.

  • Guidance was provided for “lending” laptops to students who needed them.

  • Guidance was provided for students to safely return text books and other materials.

  • Guidance was provided for school nurses to return medications to families and have them return signed forms that they received them.

  • All materials were placed into quarantine for a set number of days before staff members touched them.

• Threats of Violence Towards Self or Others - When not screened in person- Shared this information from DoDEA HQ with our District-level staff members

• Training was provided to Pacific East school counselors, psychologists and nurses regarding the DoDEA Student Services Best Practices for Remote Learning in Special Education and Student Support Services (17 APR 2020)

• Section 504 Accommodation Plans:

  • Using the examples created by the region for special education MRFs and PWNs, examples were created and shared for Section 504 Meetings when they could not be held (24 APR 2020):

    • 504 Eligible with Accommodation Plan Pending

    • 504 Eligible with Accommodation Plan Pending- Parents decline accommodations

    • Completed 504 Assessment, but eligibility meeting has not yet occurred

    • Postponed 504 Annual Review Meeting

  • Section 504 Training for holding meetings during remote learning (27 APR 2020)

  • 504 Team Coordinators were provided instructions for Creating Your Own Form (28 APR 2020)

  • Example 504 Meeting Parent Invitation with Virtual Meeting Option (29 APR 2020)

• Example provided “Student Expectations for Quarter 4 Remote Learning” (APR 2020)

• DoDEA Equipment and Material Return/Pickup including medications (29 APR 2020)

• Shared information about Military and Family Life Counselors no longer providing in person support. (APR 2020)

• COVID-19 Stress Management and Resiliency Workbook- Easy to follow Workbook for Exercises and Activities to Manage Stress and Resiliency During Uncertain Times, Created by LT Megan Camacho-Balkenbush Occupational Therapist, MS, OTR/L Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) Division Officer NAF Atsugi, Japan MSC, USN (uploaded 5 MAY 2020)

• Pacific East Special Education Informational Sessions - Town Hall with Ms. Kiyuna (3 JUN 2020)

• Shared “USFJ COVID-19 Restriction of Movement, Quarantine, and Isolation (RQI) Planning” (1 JUL 2020)- Link cannot be shared as document is “For Official Use Only”

• Collaboration done with local medical treatment center to provide videos for students at the start of the school-year including placing them on school websites and social media (20 AUG 2020)

  • Preschool-1st Grade:

    • Handwashing: Children's National Hospital: handwashing heros. Gives information about coronavirus and the associated symptoms, reminds children to stay at home if they have symptoms, instructs all the instances in which we should wash our hands (45 sec)

    • Mask Wear: ShandyClinic: Explained to Kids: Why are we wearing masks (2 min: 1 sec)

    • Social Distancing: Jack Hartmann Kids Music: Greet Someone Without Touching/Greet from 6 feet. Song that shows alternate ways to greet your friends: wave, mile, peace sign, air hug, air fist pump. (2 min, 21 sec)

  • Elementary/Middle School:

    • Handwashing: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: Proper Hand washing techniques (1:27)

    • Mask Wear: World Health Organization: How to wear a fabric mask safely (2:10)

    • Social Distancing: Kid Explorer: Social Distancing explained by kids! Provides 6 tips presented by kids ages 7-11: wash hands often, cough in your elbow, don’t touch your face, stay 3 feet away from people (note: must explain this is updated to 6 feet), get outdoors, use social media to connect with others (3:16)

  • High School:

    • Hand Washing: Hamilton Health Sciences: Proper handwashing! What gets left on your hands when you don’t wash properly. Shows how to wash hands properly and shows a science experience of how much bacteria remains on your hands when you don’t wash your hands appropriately. (4:46)

    • Mask Wear: World Health Organization: How to wear a fabric mask safely. (2:10)

    • Social Distancing: CBC Kids News: What is social distancing? (1:23)

• Created and Provided Training: DoDEA Pacific East Student Support Services, Working in a Remote Learning Environment (9 SEP 2020)

• DoDEA’s Digital Resources - How To’s Shared with Pacific East District Staff Members (SEP 2020)

• Training was provided in the fall 2020 to all employees. (Only those in the group can see this presentation)

• Notified process regarding employees told to Quarantine by Local Military Facilities, or told they must go into Restriction of Movement (ROM) by military commands. (19 NOV 2020)

• Pacific East District developed a tracking tool families could use for their own family members keeping private information to themselves, but in a way that would simplify tracking their daily wellness check. This flyer was shared with all stakeholders.

• Training was provided again in the spring 2021 to new employees and those who missed the fall training. Here is the folder with the documents from the spring training The spring 2021 training utilized version 5. Here are the basic slides that were used. Schools added their own slides in places, see the folder. Version 7 became available in July 2021.

• An employee COVID-19 vaccination tracker was developed and has undergone several changes in order to address changing needs.

  • The vaccination tracker itself contains private information, so no link can be shared. However, this tracking tool was updated several times since it was first created to allow specific needed information to be added. For example, as of January 7, 2022, the tracker included 1490 employees. Of those, 44 have requested vaccination exemption and will be tested weekly once the testing kits are received.

  • The Pacific East District used the tracker in its full capacity earlier than other districts and provided feedback which led to changes in the process and in the tracker.

• Process developed where school nurses, admin, and other staff provide “close contact” information to public health in the event of a COVID-19 positive case in schools