School board members for District ISD 166 met on Tuesday, October 13, to discuss moving towards a hybrid blend of in-person classes and distance learning. When the meeting was over, the decision was made to allow K-3 kids back into the building.
So far, kids have been kept at home, starting their school year with distance learning.
The hybrid model also allows parents to keep their children home and stay connected to their classes through distance learning if that is their wish.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz laid out plans for schools to reopen on July 30. Those guidelines gave school districts flexibility to reopen based on case counts of COVID-19 for counties or school districts, along with a school district’s ability to put a plan in place for social distancing and cleaning the school buildings.
Interim School Superintendent Megan Meyers said a COVID-19 Task Force at the school has been meeting weekly, making plans to bring kids back into the school while following the governor’s COVID-19 safety precautions. The task force has also been meeting with Cook County’s Incident Command Team.
Meyers laid out some of the highlights of the plan to bring kids back into school. There will be ten or fewer kids in each classroom; classrooms have been prepared to promote social distancing, and markers have been put on the sidewalks outside of the building to keep kids six feet apart outdoors. Plexiglass, masks, and layering are also being used to promote safety, she added.
An ionization air filtration system has been installed in classrooms and will filter the air to kill germs and give the kids and staff the cleanest air they can breathe. The entire school (except for gymnasiums) will have this ionization system. Two monitors will also be in place to monitor the ionization system, said Meyers.
The offices are also covered, noted Maintenance Supervisor Tom Nelson.
Teachers are learning to make adjustments in the way they work with kids, Meyers said. There will also be screening stations at the front driveway by the Eagle doors drop-off, and School Garden drop-off. A screener will stand behind a plastic barrier with hand sanitizer and the screener will visually inspect the person for signs of illness, which could include flushed cheeks, rapid breathing/difficulty breathing, fatigue, or extreme fussiness, and ask the individual questions in the COVID-19 symptom screener. The screener will take the person’s temperature using a non-contact thermometer. People who have temperatures less than 100 with no symptoms may enter the school. Those who have two or more symptoms, a cough, or a fever 100 or higher, will be asked to return home.
A family meeting will be held next Wednesday for parents, and Megan said she would use her phone to show parents different areas of the school and what steps have been taken.
After a half-hour-long discussion, Sissy Lunde moved, seconded by Rena Rogers, to approve the Incident Command Team’s recommendation to implement the Phase 1 Hybrid plan for kindergarten through third-grade students on October 22. A roll call vote was taken and the board approved the motion unanimously.
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