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District Level Policies and Protocols |
Elementary |
| Face Coverings / Masks |
All students and staff PreK-12 are required to wear masks while school is in session. Masks need to cover and fit around the nose and mouth (no openings such as a bandana that opens at the bottom; no gaiters).
Mask breaks are provided with strict physical distancing of 6 feet. Timing and location of breaks will be arranged by school administrators and teachers. When possible breaks will take place outside. Where not, ample ventilation and distancing will be ensured
Students are required to wear masks during bus rides.
Students and staff may be exempt from the mask requirement due to medical conditions. Face shields will be used in lieu of masks in these cases.
School Committee Policy on Masks: DPS Face Mask Policy
PPE is available for all staff through their building administrator. PPE includes but is not limited to the following (attached) |
Students will be checked for masks upon entry into the building and throughout the day.
Teachers are asked to notify the office immediately if a student is not wearing a face mask.
Families will be asked to pick up their student who refuses to wear a mask.
The Elementary Schedule includes multiple mask breaks for students.
Specifically:
Kindergarten: 5 breaks
Grades 1 to 4: 4 breaks
Grade 5: 3 breaks
If the need arises for additional mask breaks, please see the building principal. |
| Student Cohorts |
At the elementary level, students have been organized into cohorts initially by last name, with consideration of siblings, family requests, and in conjunction with HRMS and DHS. Students will attend school on either the A or B days. High Needs students were assigned to 4 days/week when appropriate.
- Cohort A: Last Name A-L
- Cohort B: Last Name M-Z
- Cohort C: Students in Fully Remote Program
- Cohort D: Students in school 4 days per week (High Needs)
Adjustments may be made to the student cohort assignments per Principal discretion. Students may switch between learning models at natural breaks during the year, i.e. quarter or trimester. |
| Physical Distancing / Students and Staff Movement through Common Areas |
Students and staff maintain physical distancing throughout the school day with a 6 foot distancing guideline.
Classrooms have been set up with student chairs 6 feet apart from one another. They also allow for at least a 6 foot teacher presentation space.
How each teacher runs his or her classroom in terms of student movement is up to the individual teacher.
Classrooms are set up to maintain a 6 foot distance between students.
This distancing applies to students and staff who are sitting in the same place for an extended time (e.g. a class period). It is possible for students and staff to pass by for a few seconds at a distance less than 6 feet with minimal risk.
As long as desks are 6 feet apart in the classroom, teachers may walk between rows of desks.
Directional travel through hallways by students and staff is marked to avoid students congregating in common areas.
When standing in line, students need to maintain physical distancing. Floors will be marked and/or staff will direct students where to stand. |
| Lunch |
Students may take off masks to eat lunch.
Students must maintain a strict 6 foot distance while eating. Capacities will be determined by the number of people who can fit while keeping safe distance.
Lunches will be served and/or larger areas (e.g. cafeteria), maintaining the physical distancing.
Students may bring lunch from home or get lunch from the food services. |
At the elementary level, there will be 5 lunch blocks, organized by grade levels.
The cafeteria and the gymnasium will both be used for lunches.
Students will be spaced six feet apart. Cohorts will arrive to and depart from the assigned space from designated exits.
Student lunches will be ordered in the morning in their homeroom, and will be prepackaged and handed to the individual student by an adult.
Students will wear masks during transitions into and out of cafeterias and while moving to a seat. Masks can be removed only when the student is seated. |
| Hand Hygiene |
Students and Staff wash hands frequently throughout the day, specifically:
- after using the toilet
- before and after eating
- before and after removing masks
- after sneezing or coughing
Hand washing – Rub hands together with soap for 20 seconds, including between fingers, and rinse with warm water.
Hand sanitizer is available throughout the schools and classrooms. Hand sanitizer may be used if hand washing is not available and at any other times of the day (rub sanitizer for 20 seconds). |
Hand sanitizer stations have been installed at entrances and exits. Students and staff are expected to use hand sanitizer upon arriving and leaving the building.
Hand sanitizer will be available in classrooms and provided by DPS.
Students will wash their hands in the classroom prior to lunch and snack breaks. Upon entering the lunch area (cafeteria or gymnasium), students will use the hand sanitizer dispensers located near those areas prior to removing their mask to eat.
Nurses will review the hand washing protocol with staff and post age-appropriate signs to remind students of the protocol. |
| Transportation |
Students will be assigned a bus through the central office. Students riding the bus will enter through the Main Entrance Doors and proceed directly to their classrooms.
All students and staff on school buses are required to wear masks at all times. (Please see mask requirements above.)
Students are seated no more than one student per bench, alternating sides for each row, allowing a 3 foot distance between students.
Students are assigned a seat on the bus.
Students from the same household may sit together.
Windows are kept open at all times during operation. The exception is during extreme weather.
Students use hand sanitizer (provided on the bus) as they board and exit. |
| Drop-Off / Arrival and Pick-Up / Dismissal |
Students maintain a physical distance of 6 feet during arrival and dismissal.
- Physical distancing is maintained when boarding and exiting the bus.
- When entering and exiting the building, students maniting the 6-foot distance.
- All students and staff must sanitize on their way into the building and on the way out of the building. Staff will complete a self certification via paper form or app once available. Disinfectant will be available to disinfect pens while completing paper forms
Parents/Guardians Dropping Off:
- Student exits the vehicle at a designated place.
- Parents/guardians remain in the vehicle.
Students proceed to a designated place upon arrival at school.
Students who walk to school do not arrive earlier than the time designated by the school. (There will be no waiting area for students who arrive early) |
Regardless of the specific procedure:
Students will maintain a 6 foot distance when entering and exiting the building.
Hand sanitizer dispensers have been placed at entrances and students and staff are expected to sanitize frequently.
Parents/guardians will not enter the building to pick up students.
Upon arrival, students will proceed directly to their classroom. Drop off at each elementary school is from 8-8:20AM.
With an emphasis and focus on student and staff safety, arrival and dismissal procedures are building-specific and will be shared with staff on September 8th.
School Specific Procedures:
Great Oak: At this time, outside doors will be utilized for both drop off and pick up. Upon arrival, all students will proceed directly to their homeroom. Aides and principal will be outside monitoring traffic and students. Students and staff will use hand sanitizer when they enter the building. We will stagger dismissal by a few minutes to allow older students to travel outside to where the youngest member of their family is dismissed. This will be supervised by teachers, aides, and administration.
Highlands: There is no change to the arrival/dismissal procedure at this time for Highlands.
Riverside: Riverside is considering dismissing students at the closest exit doors to their classrooms. K has their own exit, Grades 1-2 have their own exit, Grades 3-4 have their own exit, and Grade 5 has their own exit. 6ft. marked space has been placed on the floors to help students be distanced while waiting on those lines. Riverside is also considering BUS students to be dismissed by grade level and stand at their designated area with 6ft apart marked spaces on the floor.
Thorpe: Arrival in the morning will be monitored by the principal and teacher aides. Upon entering the building students will use hand sanitizer and proceed to their respective classrooms. Upon arrival bus students will maintain social distancing of 6’ and use hand sanitizer. Thorpe is considering both the main entrance and the front side door adjacent to the Intermediate Wing for dismissal. Bus students, accompanied by a teacher aide, will proceed to the cafeteria by grade level, maintaining social distancing, until boarding the bus.
Smith: Outside doors will be utilized for drop off. Upon arrival, all students will proceed directly to their homeroom. Aides and principal will be outside monitoring traffic and students. Inside the building staff will be present at doors and in hallways. Students and staff will use hand sanitizer when they enter the building. Dismissal will be staggered for all students (Buses, BDW and FDW) and the order of calling will start with the older learners. 6 Feet markers will be placed in all hallways and spray painted dots will line the sidewalk up to the top of Lima/Orrantia. |
| Cleaning and Disinfecting |
High touch surfaces cleaned several times during the day:
- Door handles
- Light switches
- Faucets
- Stair railings
Bathrooms cleaned two to three times per day
Nurse’s offices cleaned and disinfected daily.
Deep cleaning of buildings every Wednesday (between cohorts of students). |
Teachers will have an adequate supply of cleaning/disinfecting materials provided by the district to use with students.
Elementary students will be asked to clean their desks at the end of the day. We will ask that teachers use the spray bottle to “spritz” each student desk and chair and then ask the students to wipe it down.
Bathrooms will be cleaned by custodial staff every 2-3 hours throughout the day.
Sanitization stations are placed throughout the building for both student and staff use. |
| Transition Time |
The elementary schedule accounts for transition time for both staff and students.
Signs will be posted to remind students of social distancing guidelines and traffic patterns.
To help ensure smooth transitions, we are asking teachers to maintain a presence in their doorways to help monitor traffic flow in the hallway. |
| Bathrooms |
Masks must be worn by all students and employees in all bathrooms at all times, even if the bathroom is single occupancy.
Administrators will walk the building a few times a block to ensure students are not congregating in the bathroom. |
We are asking all teachers to abide by the one-in/one-out policy in their classroom. Only one student should be allowed to leave for a bathroom break at a time.
Please note that at this time, we will not have adults on bathroom duty monitoring student movement into and out of the bathrooms. |
| Visitors |
Visitors will be met by school personnel at the door in most cases. Exceptions include:
A delivery person needs to transport items into the building.
A contractor needs to access building systems.
Our goal is to limit in-person meetings with visitors for health and safety reasons. We will utilize technology (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) to hold meetings virtually whenever possible.
Visitors are only allowed by appointment.
A parent/guardian needs to attend an in-person meeting – iep, discipline, ect..
Visitors who enter the building are required to:
wear a mask/face covering at all times
Maintain physical distancing of 6 feet.
Complete self certification
School administrators may deny access to visitors who do not comply with the district’s safety precautions. |
Our goal is to limit in-person meetings with visitors for health and safety reasons. We will utilize technology (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) to hold meetings virtually whenever possible.
If a parent needs to drop off anything to a student, they will leave the item at the door in the designated spot, and the materials will be retrieved by a staff member after the parent has left.
If a student is being dismissed, students will be dismissed through the main door to their parents waiting outside of the building.
Visitors are only allowed by appointment. To make an appointment please call your school’s main office.
Fall Open Houses:
Fall Open Houses will be conducted virtually via Google Meets. Dates are TBA by school.
Parent Conferences:
Parent Conferences will be held virtually on November 3rd. Staff will create a schedule and Google Meet link for families. |
| Technology |
The District is moving to a one to one model for Chromebooks. Due to global supply chain and shipping issues, new chromebooks may not be received until October. Until then, chromebooks will be distributed on a needs basis. |
Every classroom will have two power strips for students to charge their chromebooks one at a time. |
| Facilities |
All classrooms, where possible, have been relocated to spaces including windows. Air purifiers will be added to any classroom where there are no windows or the HVAC does not have separate exhaust.
All HVAC systems have been inspected by ATCO and DPW to ensure working order. Checklists of inspections are available
Desk locations have been marked in each classroom at 6 feet to maintain distancing. At no times should there be more people in the room than desks with the exception of individuals providing service delivery.
Furniture has been set up in common spaces. Area capacities are defined by the furniture set up or marked in the given space. |
Traffic flow patterns will prioritize one way traffic when possible. When that is not possible, students and staff will always stay to the right in common areas. |
| Other General Information |
Attendance expectations will remain the same in both remote and in person instruction for both students and staff.
Students and staff are asked to stay home when they are sick. This is critical to mitigate the spread of germs.
Food and drink will not be allowed for students in classrooms. Snacks will be outside during one of the mask breaks. Each school will have a different plan for when there is inclement weather (i.e., using an aide to take half of students to an indoor location to have their snack to ensure maximum distancing).
Quarantine and contact tracing procedures have been outlined in guidance released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and will be undertaken in conjunction with the local Department of Public Health
Fire and Intruder drills will be practiced in a revised manner in conjunction with the police and fire departments. In the event a real emergency, safety and egress should take priority over social distancing |
