Dubois County schools outline reopening plan

While the school corporations are still working through details on how students will attend schools — Northeast Dubois’ school board debated whether or not to mandate masks for much of their meeting Tuesday, at this time students will return to schools with certain caveats in place.

The four school corporations formed a task force in the spring to plan how the county would move forward if the state-mandated that schools reopen their doors. At the beginning of July, Governor Eric Holcomb announced schools would open, and athletic activities could restart as part of the state’s phased reopening.

This morning, details of that plan were discussed and approved in by each of the four Dubois County school corporation boards, and notifications were sent out to parents.

The Dubois County School Districts worked together to develop the framework to safely reopen for the 2020-2021 school year. An immense amount of guidance and information has been used to inform the reentry plan, according to a statement that went out to parents.

All components of the plan follow directives from Governor Eric Holcomb and considers information and guidance from the CDC, Indiana State Health Department, Dubois County Health Department (DCHD), and Indiana Department of Education.

Here is an outline of that plan.

Dubois County School Reopening framework from Matthew Crane

Schools will reopen to in-person instruction on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, as long as local and state data indicate it is appropriate. While a public health emergency exists, students may opt for a COVID online academy instead of in-person instruction. Families opting for the online academy must commit to at least a semester. There is a grace period being offered for students, and that ends September 1, 2020.

The COVID online academy curriculum is limited, and students who opt for virtual instead of in-person attendance will not be eligible to participate in extra-curricular, co-curricular, or athletics. Online enrollment information for ALL students will be forthcoming to parents.

The plan for reopening includes many health and safety protocols that will be implemented to aid in mitigating all illnesses, including COVID-19. Those include:

• School facilities will continue to undergo daily cleaning and disinfecting. Hand sanitizer and disinfecting supplies will be available in every classroom and in all high traffic areas for use throughout the day.
• All students and staff will be expected to daily self-monitor temperature and symptoms. If you are ill, please STAY HOME. Individuals who become ill at school will have a special isolation room with added protocols to ensure safety.
• The use of face coverings or masks is recommended. All students and staff will be provided with cloth face masks to be used at their discretion. The use of masks is recommended while riding the school bus, transitioning in hallways, standing in line, or during small groups or labs.
• Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles as fountain mouthpieces will be closed. Some bottle fill stations will be available for refills.
• Handwashing and respiratory hygiene will be taught and promoted by all students and staff.
• Students can expect assigned seating on school buses, in classrooms, in the cafeteria, and in other locations. Social distancing is challenging; therefore, we will do our best to arrange classrooms and transitions throughout the buildings in a way that can promote this to the extent possible. However, proper handwashing, the use of face coverings, respiratory hygiene, and staying home when sick can proactively aid our cause.
• Visitors will not be permitted in schools.

The schools have adopted three levels of operations denoted by the colors red, yellow, and green.

At this time, they are in the green level, which allows for the operation of schools with students in the classroom on a regular schedule with those steps listed above. Guidelines to remain in green include that no more than 20 percent of the student body is absent due to any illness or by the recommendation of the DCHD in response to COVID-19 cases.

If the situation changes to greater than 20 percent but less than 25 percent absent rate due to any sickness, excessive staff sickness, or as mandated by the DCHD, schools will move to yellow. Under yellow, the coursework will become a hybrid of virtual and classroom work.

The schools will go to virtual classes if absences reach 25 percent due to any illness, excessive staff absence due to illness, or again, at the recommendation of the DCHD in response to positive Covid-19 cases.

If five confirmed positive cases of Covid-19 occur, the building or classroom can be shut down for two to five days for cleaning, and virtual learning will be implemented.

The school corporations are concerned about the potential for spreading the disease while students are on buses. If possible, to relieve the number of students on buses, corporations are asking for students to be driven to school. However, for those students that must ride a bus to school, masks are highly recommended. Additional steps, like assigned seating and mandating that sibling groups sit together on the bus, will also be in place.

Students entering schools will be subject to temperature checks as much as possible, and anyone with a temperature will be isolated for assessment before entering the classroom. Other steps like easy access to sanitizer stations and posters reminding students of sanitary procedures will be available.

At this time, masks are not mandatory.

During the Northeast Dubois County School Board meeting, in a clearly divided board regarding mask usage, the discussion largely focused on whether or not to mandate masks for students.

The teachers’ union has stated that teachers will have the option to determine whether masks are mandatory in their classrooms or not; however, Northeast Dubois School Board president Mary Panke said unless it is mandated across the board, this could cause confusion for students.

Vice-president Bernie Knies stated he did not want to mandate mask usage because he didn’t believe they were effective at stopping the spread. He also felt parents would not send their children to school if children were required to have a mask.

Board member Shawn Dooley disagreed, stating there was plenty of science supporting the usage of masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

The board decided to table the decision as they plan on meeting regularly over the next four weeks before school starts, and the plan can be modified to accommodate any changes in the pandemic or from the state.

School corporations have updated their websites to include the plan for reopening with further instruction for parents.