NSD gearing up for start of school

ROSSTON – A plan is in place for the Nevada School District to start school on Aug. 24.

However, as Superintendent Rick McAfee told the Nevada School Board at its July meeting Thursday, these plans can change due to the COVID-19 situation.

The most important thing, McAfee said, is to open school safely for everyone involved, which won’t be easy. He presented three phases for the opening with the first being a completely digital format for the students with the district delivering meals to students.

The second phase would be to have students in school, half on Monday and Wednesday and half on Tuesday and Thursday with no students in school on Friday, which would be used for the development of digital plans. This plan would be reevaluated after four weeks, which includes the Labor Day holiday, to see how things are progressing and if there are any infections.

Phase III, he said, would be to open school as usual, going five days a week with students required to wear masks at all times.

He addressed the problem of students who don’t have access to the internet, saying they would get their lessons on thumb drives that would be delivered with their meals and picked up the next day when meals arrive. In addition, he said, the district received funding, $83,000 in COVID-19 money, to purchase 25 hot spots for wi-fi access. These hot spots will be placed on buses. Students in grades 3-12 will be given chromebooks and carrying cases. When the bus arrives with their meals, they will take their chromebooks to the bus and download the lesson plans. Hot spots will also be placed around the community to help with this problem.

The board was informed the families of 58 students have said they won’t be sending their children to school. These students will be educated on a digital format, with K-2 students getting pre-recorded lessons designed by Nevada Elementary School teachers. Those with no internet access will get the lessons through Class Dojo and will also be given a remote learning binder containing what they need for their daily lessons. Those with internet access will connect with classroom instructions via Zoom, and also get a remote binder.

Students in grades 3-6 will get their instructions through Google Classroom, with teachers creating and recording lessons. Those with little or no internet access will receive information on thumb drives.

For Nevada High School, virtual lessons will be through Google Classroom, like those in grades 3-6. Those with little or no internet access will also get thumb drives.

McAfee suggested, with the board approving, opening the school under Phase II.

Teachers will arrive on campus no later than 7:30 a.m. each day and will have their temperature taken before entering the building. Classified staff and custodians report at their normal times, but will also be required to have their temperature taken before going inside. The same will go for the cafeteria staff, except they will also have to answer a health screening questionnaire daily before entering the kitchen.

In getting students to and from school, buses will be sanitized twice daily, once after picking students up and then after dropping them off. Parents are expected to screen their children before they leave the house and make sure they don’t have a temperature. Siblings will be allowed to sit together on the buses, with alternating seating to provide social distancing. All students must wear masks while on the bus. Hand sanitizer will be on the buses and students must use this before getting on in the morning and afternoon.

Parents shouldn’t drop students off at school before 7:40 a.m. and NES students must be dropped off at the elementary side doors. Students dropped off after 8 a.m. must be accompanied by their parents to the door for screening and parents will be required to wear a mask.

Buses will unload one at a time in front of the building, which will take roughly 30 minutes.

Any student with a temperature of 100.4 or higher is asked to be kept at home. Students must have a temperature of less than 100.4 to attend school. Any student who has a fever higher than 100.4 must stay home for at least 48 hours without using any fever reducing medication.

When students arrive at school, they will be screened before being allowed inside. They will also be required to follow floor markings for social distancing. Once screened, they must go directly to their classroom. Those with a fever will be placed in a sick room until their parents are notified and they can be picked up.

Only visitors providing student services will be allowed in the building and must wear a mask. They will be screened per Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) guidelines, which include a temperature check and answering questions. Those who don’t pass the screening must leave the school.

Parents checking students out must call the school office when they arrive in the parking lot. They will meet a staff member at the door to sign their child out, but parents must wear a mask.

The plan also addresses water fountains, which will have their spouts turned off. Instead, the district is now equipped with four bottle refilling stations for students and staff to use. Students are encouraged to bring water bottles from home for their daily use.

As to breakfast and lunch, the cafeteria will be used for both. However, social distancing will be enforced as a limited number of students will be allowed to eat at a time.

For NES students, recess wasn’t forgotten. Students won’t be allowed to use the playground equipment as it can’t be properly sanitized, but they will be allowed to go outside to play games such as shadow tag, where whoever is “it” must step on another player’s shadow. No physical contact is allowed and the students will be divided into separate classes, each being assigned a section of the playground. This will be rotated daily.

What will slow things down is the new rules for restroom use. Only two students will be allowed inside at a time with the facilities sanitized after they exit. Doorstops will be used to keep students from touching the handles and students muse use a hand sanitizer before going back to class. Sanitizing stations will be set up outside each classroom.

During these times communication is vital. Parents are to notify the school by 8:30 a.m. if they have a sick child. The number is 870-871-2475. If a child tested positive for COVID-19 they must be kept at home until released with a doctor’s note and this information should be sent to the school nurse. Parents need to make sure the school has accurate contact information, such as email and phone number along with the proper street address.

The school will be available to parents through its website, an automated calling system, social media, email, texts or phone calls.

The district will also be working to develop videos showing what things will be like under Phase II of the opening. These videos will be available, once they’re done, on Facebook.

In other business, the board approved a parent engagement plan to get parents more involved with the district. Much of this will be done through social media, phone calls, texts and emails.

The board approved changing the school calendar to reflect the opening date of Aug. 24. Digital days were added to the holidays so school can still end on May 27 instead of going until June 9.

It also approved remaining in the CEP program which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students.

Bids were accepted from Highland Dairy for milk and juice, Ben E. Keith for food and paper, ad Abernathy for chemicals. These were the low bidders.

Lindsey Casey was named the district’s point of contact person. She’s the school nurse and will be who the ADH contacts with information concerning COVID-19. She must be available 24-7 and will receive a stipend of $1,000 a year for this. However, the amount can be changed depending on the workload..

McAfee reminded the board the plan is anything but perfect and there are problems with it. One being working parents may not have anyone at home to watch their children the three-days a week they’re not in school.

There’s also the problem of teachers who have preexisting conditions that could be more adversely affected by the COVID-19 virus. Any teacher testing positive must be quarantined for 14 days, any more time will require them to use sick days or they won’t be paid for their time away from the classroom. Some can use family leave if they can’t return, but their pay will be reduced to 75 percent of normal, and, depending on their situation, be reduced even further.

McAfee pointed out there are no substitute teachers available to fill in, which poses another problem.