By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
The school community of Brown County Schools is committed to creating a safe and healthy school environment for the students and staff we serve. In order to be responsive to the unique challenges that face our school district during the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed return-to-school plan documents that outline the strategies that are being deployed to navigate these extremely challenging times.
In May, a Return to School Task Force was formed with a comprehensive team of district and school leaders, teachers and non-certified staff. The purpose of the task force was to develop a return-to-school plan that meets the unique needs of the community that is Brown County Schools. We are sincerely grateful to all who participated in this extremely important work.
As has been the case throughout this crisis, we share deep gratitude to our governing agencies: The Indiana office of the governor, the Indiana State Department of Health, the Brown County Health Department, the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Several resources published by these groups were foundational documents in the development of our plans.
Last week, Brown County Schools released three documents to the school community: 1) Brown County Schools Return to School Plan, 2) Brown County Schools Return to School Handbook and 3) Brown County Schools Return to School Frequently Asked Questions. Though we are pleased to have created and released these plan documents, there are many conditions associated with this virus that are continuously changing. We expect that there will be modifications to these plans.
Additionally, it is possible that responses to health and safety situations may vary by the school. For example, responses at the high school level might look very different from responses at an elementary level. Our intention, always, is to keep the students and staff of Brown County Schools safe and healthy.
School will begin, as originally planned, on Wednesday, Aug. 5. We will provide traditional in-person instruction (Monday to Friday) for students who are able to return to school. One hundred percent remote learning will be available for students with risk factors/health issues and for those who have immediate family members with health issues.
There will be times when students and staff will need to wear masks. Masks will be required on buses, while entering and exiting the school building, while picking up food in the cafeteria line, and during passing periods. Masks might also be required for certain classrooms or classroom activities.
We will practice social distancing, when possible. As compared with much larger districts, our schools and class sizes are relatively small. However, social distancing will not be possible at all times. In classrooms, student seating may be arranged to all face in the same direction, and will be spaced as far apart as possible. On buses, we will require assigned seating and siblings will sit together. At lunch, we will maximize available spaces for distancing and seating will be assigned.
We have three plans in place for school. First, we have a plan for when there is “low to no spread” of COVID-19 symptoms. This is the plan that is in place for our return to school. If we witness an increasing number of students reporting symptoms per building, then we will deploy the next step of the plan for “minimal to moderate spread.” If we have increasing numbers of students reporting students per building with the minimal to moderate spread plan deployed, then we will deploy the most restrictive step of the plan, “substantial spread.”
One of the keys to a successful return to school is for parents/guardians to be attentive to the daily health of their children. They will be asked to screen their child daily for a fever and for symptoms related to COVID-19 before sending them to school.
If we have a confirmed case of COVID-19, we will follow direction from the Brown County Health Department. This may include closing a classroom, school or schools for a period of time and shifting quickly to remote learning at home for students who are impacted.
Many of our new procedures are designed to support contact tracing should a confirmed case occur. By cohorting groups of students, we will assist the health department with quickly identifying and contacting individuals who may have been exposed.
Should you be interested in reviewing our plan documents, they will be posted on the Brown County Schools website.
It is incredible to think that school is only weeks away. While the experience will certainly be different this year, we are deeply committed to providing the highest quality educational experience while simultaneously providing a safe and healthy environment.
Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
