What is the plan for the 2021-2022 school year?

Many factors were used to organize students into the A and B groups. To efficiently and effectively transport students to school with the goal of students who live in the same household attending school on the same day, bussing routes were used. All students are organized by bussing zones even those who walk or are transported to school. Efforts were made to balance classrooms to avoid classes that were too large or too small. Established groupings have little to no flexibility once established.

How was the reopening plan formulated?

The RSU 39 Remote Learning Task Team, a group of key employees, educators, parents, community members, and health care officials, was charged with reviewing safety guidance from local, state, and federal health and education officials. The district also considered feedback from parent and teacher surveys distributed over the summer. The RSU 39 Administration team developed an Instructional Continuity Plan to ensure that learning will continue throughout the year. This plan provides a robust framework that expands on the current RSU 39 at-home virtual learning platform and provides additional guidance and support for any future extended periods of closure. What will be required from parents who decide to continue remote instruction?

Parents choosing this option must sign an agreement committing to virtual learning once signed students must stay remote for the entire Trimester in which they chooose remote schooling. First Quarter. What information will be used to determine whether to keep or push back the target date?

The district will remain in close contact with federal, state and local health and education officials and make necessary adjustments to the target dates for in-person instruction if COVID-19 conditions change. What safety protocols will be in place at district schools and facilities?

Once in-person instruction resumes, safety protocols will include requiring all RSU 39 employees, students, and visitors to undergo entry screenings, wear face coverings, wash hands regularly, and practice physical distancing. The district will provide enough hand soap, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant to accommodate frequent cleaning.

Will visitors on school campuses be restricted?

Yes, our schools will limit visitors and will notify the community of the updated visitation procedures when appropriate.

How will attendance be taken?

Students who are engaged in daily learning as defined below will be considered “present” and will not be marked absent. RSU 39's plan is Yellow which is a Hybrid. This means that students either in Group A or Group B whether in person at school or online remotely will attend class on a regular basis and will show up on time or be considered tardy. Attendance will be taken by the teacher at the start of each class for the entire day and it will be marked appropriately.

RSU 39 will be taking attendance and reporting tardiness and absences to parents daily via our district's notification system SwiftK12 after the school day ends each day. Parents and students will be reminded of the opportunity to resolve that day’s absence. If a student is engaged in remote learning and completes the entire weeks’ worth of learning activities on Monday and does not log in for the remainder of the week, he/she will be marked “present” on Monday only and counted “absent” for Tuesday-Friday. RSU 39 students will be engaged in daily instruction, both on site learning and remote learning. Remote attendance will count in the same manner as on-campus (face-to-face) attendance in satisfying this requirement.

What should classrooms look like to ensure physical distancing measures are in place?

Classrooms must be reconfigured to ensure physical distancing. Student assemblies will be held virtually. School have established isolation areas for students and adults who are flagged during entry screening.

Which students will be eligible for transportation?

Transportation Services will enhance cleaning protocols and implement physical distancing for all buses and buildings. The department also will implement contingency plans for responding to student bus riders and bus drivers who develop a presumed or confirmed case of COVID-19.

How often will schools be sanitized?

RSU 39 Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations employees will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines regarding the cleaning, sanitation, and disinfection of district facilities. The district will provide enough hand soap, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant to accommodate frequent cleaning.

How do parents obtain technology for their child(ren) during virtual learning?

Parents or the child should email the district technology help desk at support@rsu39.org needed for virtual learning. They may also email the Technology Staff directly at support@rsu39.org.

Will students be provided meals at school?

Once in-person instruction begins, Nutrition Services will provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and after-school suppers in classrooms for students engaged in in-person learning. Curbside meals will be available for students enrolled in virtual learning. Employees will continue to accommodate student health, medical, and special dietary needs, as well as allergy concerns. Department employees will follow public health hygiene recommendations and enhance custodial cleaning and surface disinfection.

What will extracurricular and fine arts activities look like in the fall?

Extracurricular activities will follow the same safety practices employed on school campuses during the school day. School-based extracurricular activities will resume when in-person instruction begins. Face coverings must be made available to and worn by students and teachers during all extracurricular activities. Student sporting events are tentatively scheduled for the fall, but RSU 39 Athletics will adjust plans as needed if COVID-19 conditions change. Fine Arts will reduce class sizes and maintain guidelines for physical distancing. Students will not be allowed to share personal belongings, equipment or other items.

Will any field trips take place in the fall?

Field trips for all grade levels will not be held until the district receives guidance that it has been deemed safe for students to visit non-RSU 39 facilities.

How will grading take place?

Students enrolled in remote instruction follow the same grading guidelines as in-person instruction. Teachers receive support and guidance on effective grading practices to ensure that grading guidelines are followed in both instructional models. Teachers will post grades on a weekly basis. Courses taken as Dual Credit or Dual Enrollment will be subject to the grading policies of the Institution of Higher Education issuing the college credit. Additional information on grades:

• Grades will be taken during each grading cycle of the 2021-2022 school year.

• All cycle grades will be used in the calculation of the final average for any class.

• Final exams will be administered for high school courses and determined by the class instructors.

• Teachers will be recording grades, which will be available for parents and students to access through the Schoology (log-in information was already provided by the RSU through an email. The email included the Parent Access Codes and instructions for parents to create an account to view their child(rens) information.

RSU 39's reopening school plan takes into account common lessons learned from our successes and missteps in the 20-21 school year distance learning implementation.

Six key areas of learning have been identified as being important to RSU 39.

Instructional Model

• Consistent implementation of a district-wide instructional schedule is needed to promote equity.

• More synchronous student learning (live, interactive learning) is preferred.

• Increased access to live teaching experiences is needed to reduce the family burden to support student learning.

• Increased social-emotional learning (SEL) opportunities are needed in a virtual environment.

Equity Concerns

• Technology and connectivity must be provided by the district to ensure that all students can participate equitably in online instruction.

• District plans must account for the disproportionate health and economic impact of COVID-19 on certain communities, including how this affects students’ ability to equitably participate in online learning, potentially widening achievement gaps.

Communication

• Opportunities for two-way conversations with all stakeholders is vitally important when generating plans and monitoring implementation.

• Frequent and consistent messaging from the district, and schools are needed, with safeguards to ensure communication reaches all families.

Instructional Practices

• Staff need dedicated time to plan and work in collaborative teams.

• Ongoing professional development is needed to strengthen virtual teaching strategies.

• Digital citizenship concepts and skills should be integrated into lessons.

• Consistent inclusion of “specials” classes in elementary school and electives in middle schools is needed to support the whole child.

• Grading policies should be carefully crafted to appropriately motivate student engagement.

Technology and Infrastructure

• Timely distribution of laptops and hotspot devices must be further strengthened to support student access to online instruction.

• Learning platforms and video conferencing must be able to support consistent access by FCPS students and staff.

• Students must have secure ways to access synchronous learning.

• Safety of our students is extremely important so to that end all of our teachers are required to use a Learning Management System (LMS).

• Honoring students’ individuality while maintaining security is critical, such as by reflecting preferred names within digital platforms.

Staff Support

• Staff access to childcare is needed to meet the demands of virtual instruction and telework.

• Administrators, teachers, and support staff should receive sustained professional development on a range of crisis-related issues, self-care, and productivity tools.

• The district must ensure that all staff have consistent access to internet connectivity so they may effectively support students, families, and the school system.

Unfortunately, the many different variants and the local spread of infection makes us have to consider ALL COVID-19 protocols we put into place in the 20-21 school year.

• RSU 39 has designated a COVID-19 resource person(s) our school nursing staff to assist each school building.

• RSU 39 is restricting visitors on school grounds or in school facilities until further notice. Please call ahead if you need to come to any RSU 39 schools.

• RSU 39's plan include steps that will be taken to instruct parents/guardians in screening students at home for signs of illness by multiple means which may include written communication, short videos and parent forums.

• RSU 39 will rely on parent/guardian screening before school.

• RSU 39's plan will include written protocols to screen students before entering school. Such protocols should meet CDC requirements for PPE and social distancing, have sufficient supplies to conduct screenings, along with ensuring waiting students are supervised.

• RSU 39's plan is optional use of face coverings.

• RSU 39's plan includes a requirement that school health personnel wear PPE when assessing ill persons or conducting certain respiratory treatments.

• RSU 39's plan will designate rooms if available for school health service personnel. One room will be for healthy students to obtain medications and nursing treatments. The second room will be for isolating ill persons.

• RSU 39 will use disposable equipment and supplies in the health office as much as practicable.

• RSU 39's plan includes providing PPE to custodial and other personnel cleaning and engaging in disinfection at the school if required by the manufacturer of the agent being used.

• RSU 39's plan includes a daily checklist for school personnel to inspect their area and ensure they have sufficient supplies each day (e.g., face covering, tissues, hand hygiene supplies, cleaning supplies, etc.)