Schools will establish arrival and dismissal procedures to minimize crowding, foot traffic, and transmission of COVID-19, including drop-off and pick-up points for walkers and bike riders.

Dismissal procedures will include transition directives that limit the mixing of cohorts of students. Signage will be provided to remind students and parents of the traffic flow pattern upon entrance and exit of school grounds.

Additionally, school-based teams will establish a rainy-day plan.

Students will be supervised by staff throughout dismissal. Students will always be required to wear their face covering during dismissal.

• Schools will clearly message families regarding times when supervision is available and when students are permitted on campus.

• Administrators will create site-based protocols for all late arrival and early pickup. Parents/guardians picking students up will have to wait in the designated area, with face covering, and student will be escorted to them.

Administrators will view and approve classroom designs prior to the start of the school year.

• Extraneous furniture will be removed from each classroom as much as possible for proper social distancing practices.

• Students will be provided materials to avoid sharing of items.

The site-based administrator will determine site-based procedures that minimize the spread of the virus including minimal transitions
and consistent grouping whenever possible. This includes all classroom settings, teacher directed PE, specials, and special education services locations when possible and appropriate.

School administrators will need to establish an inventory system to identify shared items for the curriculum and see how additional items can be ordered. If additional items are not readily available to the school, consultation with content supervisors will be required.

Our district remains committed to communicating important, current information to safeguard our students, staff, families, and community stakeholders. The following actions will remain at the forefront of our initiatives for health, safety, and wellness.

• Signage within schools to promote proper hygiene and social distancing.

• Provide flyers for students and families on COVID-19 protocols.

• Media posts targeting families to educate regarding virtual options for the fall.

• A landing page dedicated to updated information for students and staff regarding COVID-19 developments can be located on our
  district website at www.zion6.org.

• Regular digital newsletter updating families on the latest information for school reopening sent through School Messenger.

Face coverings will be required based upon best available data and input from local health authorities, the School Board, CDC guidelines
and stakeholder groups including teachers and parents.

Special clear masks will be available for grades PreK-2 for teaching staff to support instruction for language acquisition.

Students are required to wear face coverings during school hours as well as on school buses. Face coverings must be school appropriate
and shall not interfere with the district’s dress code policy.

Face coverings should be provided to students by parents/guardians and must be 2 layered cloth OR disposable. The district will provide masks only when a student’s mask is forgotten, ruined, or soiled.

Mask Enforcement: School administration or staff will be stationed at entry points throughout each campus to remind students to wear face coverings prior to entering the building. Students who repeatedly do not wear a mask in the school building will be educated on their importance while faculty will work to use restorative practices to encourage students to utilize a mask.

Each school will have a COVID Point Person to work on compliance issues at the school level. The School Office will be enforcing the facial covering mandate. Masks are required for all vaccinated and unvaccinated students and staff while in the school buildings at this time.
CDC and State guidance is subject to change and the district will update the information accordingly.

Common areas and classrooms: Students must wear masks in all areas, to include the classroom, as well as hallways and other shared spaces. Teachers can work with students to provide designated “mask breaks” during which time students will be socially distanced,
such as during recess breaks.

Exemptions: Students or staff must have a medical need for which a face covering would cause an impairment. A doctor’s note is
necessary to be exempt from wearing a mask. There is also an applicable exemption for students or staff who need to communicate
with someone who is hearing impaired and needs to see the person’s mouth to communicate.

Understanding that there may be students, due to the nature of their disabilities, who will not be able to wear a mask/face covering, staff
in those cases may wear a mask and face shield. Therapists, teachers and other staff working with students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, will need to wear a special clear mask and not a regular mask to ensure proper communication. Face shields will also be used by Speech
and Language Therapists when providing speech therapy.

Pursuant to State guidance, the District may make limited exceptions to this requirement for students “who cannot wear a mask or cannot safely wear a mask because of a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).” To request a
face covering exemption for your child due to a medical or developmental need, please complete this form or contact the nurse at your child’s school.

Breakfast and lunch will include pre-packaged items. Students will receive meals through a delivery system to their classroom or gym/cafeteria. Meals will be prepacked and heated, if required.

It is essential to create a healthy and safe environment by limiting potential COVID-19 exposure whenever possible. It is our goal that as we reopen schools and welcome children into a new year of learning, that we mitigate the health concerns with which we are faced, and focus on providing high-quality instruction and engagement for every student despite the circumstances.

Students will be socially distanced to the greatest extent possible. When it is not possible to socially distance, students should engage in more frequent hand washing and mandatory mask wearing.

Every classroom will be designed to maximize space and distance between each student.

• Classroom furniture will be rearranged to provide additional space. Administrators will preview and approve classroom designs prior to the start of school, and throughout the school year as adjustments are required.

Students will practice social distancing from the arrival on campus through departure.

• Our district will be limiting access to essential educational visitors and volunteers to appointment only. A request must be made 24 hours in advance.

• Administrators will establish protocols for greeting visitors and the need for screenings and temperature checks.

Administrators will create site-based procedures for community restrooms and confined spaces to allow for social distancing and proper hand washing.

Students will be encouraged to stay socially distanced while at the bus stop. This must be a joint education effort between families and school personnel. Students will be socially distanced as much as the physical capacity of the bus allows.

• Students will load on school buses from back to front, increasing social distancing and limiting exposure to others.

• Students and drivers will wear masks while riding the bus. Bus drivers will have disposable masks to hand out to students in the event a student does not have his or her mask.