School district releases plans for fall reopening; includes alternating schedule
Dan McClelland
by Rich Rosentreter
The Tupper Lake Central School District has released a plan to reopen schools in the fall with grades kindergarten through 6th grade meeting four days a week and grades 7 through 12 being broken into groups and meeting on alternating days. The announcement was made via the district’s social media page on Facebook, stressing that the plan is subject to change.
According to the plan, middle/high school students will be in class two days a week – either the first two or last two days of the week - and perform online studies the other two. Elementary school students will be in class each weekday except Wednesdays, which will be reserved for “office hours, parent conferencing, professional development, planning, remote academic intervention and cleaning” for both schools.
The plan, which is also available for viewing on the district’s website, was released by new Superintendent Russell Bartlett, who stressed at the forefront of the decision for reopening being the goal to “safeguard the health and safety of our students, staff and community” and that “there is no one-size-fits all approach to returning to school. Everyone’s fears and frustrations are perfectly valid, these are unprecedented times.”
“It is vital that we continually monitor the health and wellness of students and staff and, if possible or necessary, be prepared to transition to an alternate instructional model at any time,” Mr. Bartlett wrote. “We will work to provide educational and social-emotional support to our students and the Tupper Lake community at-large in any way we can. Communication between the school and the community is critical.”
“The Tupper Lake Central School District enters into this planning process with the understanding that health developments and governmental directives will influence decisions we make. We will work within the parameters we are given to provide the best - and most appropriate - learning experience for all students in all grades,” the district statement read.
Schedules
The district has laid out what it stressed is a plan that was “constructed using all of the information available from parents, students, staff, and the State of New York.” Although it is subject to change, the it was constructed under the current set of guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, the New York State Department of Education and the New York State Department of Health, according to Mr. Bartlett.
The plan to reopen is as follows:
Grades K-6: All students will be in session four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Students will arrive and leave at their normal times. There will be no after-school activities. The current plan has grade 6 being housed in the Baker Wing of the middle/high school. Those students will arrive and leave at the normal school hours.
Grades 7-12: Students will be assigned to A and B groups. A students will be present in the building on Monday and Tuesday and will be present via remote connection on Thursday and Friday. B students will be present in the building on Thursday and Friday and will be present via remote connection on Monday and Tuesday.
The school day will run from 7:50 a.m. to 2:04 p.m. There will be no tutorial period or after-school activities.
BOCES PASS and CTE programs: Due to their smaller class sizes and larger classrooms, will be able to be in session five days a week, Monday through Friday for all students at the Adirondack Education Center in Saranac Lake. Transportation details for those programs are being arranged and will be finalized in the coming weeks.
Pre-K: This will be in session five days a week, Monday through Friday with two sessions. Any K-12 family that wishes to engage in full-time, remote, at-home learning may do so. Families will receive a mailing that will allow them to notify the district of their intent to use this option. Students may only change between at-home, in-person and hybrid learning models at 10-week marking periods. (November, January, April).
Precautions
The plan also calls for several health and safety actions such as requiring all students and staff to wear masks and provide a daily health screening along with parents or guardians responsible for “submitting an electronic or paper verification form indicating that they have followed the guidelines for health screening before sending their children to school each day.”
Both staff and students will have to maintain appropriate social distancing on buses, in common areas and anytime not seated in a classroom. Training will take place ofter regarding proper hand washing and respiratory hygiene procedures, along with reminders of the policy when required.
Transportation
The school reopening plan also encourages parents to “transport their children to and from school if possible in order to relieve bus congestion and provide room for social distancing. Bus routes will be developed to minimize congestion.” Students and staff will be required to wear masks or face coverings at all times on the bus and seats will be assigned on each bus in order to minimize contact and provide for appropriate social distancing.
Sports
There will be no sports or extracurricular activities to start the year, but fall sports are currently scheduled to begin on September 21.
“We will continue to monitor updates from the governor’s office and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and introduce activities as we receive further guidance from those organizations,” Mr. Bartlett wrote. “More information to come as it is available.”