September 23, 2020

Families,

The purpose of this letter is to let you know that the Bellefontaine City School District is continuing to plan for the next phase of having all of our students back in our classrooms.  Through cooperation from families, students, and a tremendous amount of thought and planning in the district, we have had a great start to the school year.  With guidance from the Logan County Health Department, we will continue to plan for the next phase and your cooperation, patience, and support will continue to be vital. 

Our ultimate goal has always been to have all of our students back in our classrooms five days a week.  To that end, we are planning for the next step in that direction.  Plans are developing to bring our current Blended students in grades K-8 back to classrooms four days per week beginning Tuesday, November 3, 2020.  Due to guidelines from the Logan County Health Department, our high school will remain on the current Blended schedule.  We will continue to work with the LCHD to gain support for the full return of our high school students. 

In this next phase, we will not be considering the return of our fully remote students.  We will re-evaluate the return of our fully remote students for the beginning of our second semester.  At that same time, we will be evaluating moving from four days per week to a full five-day week.

This morning, I communicated this next phase to the whole staff in the district.  Teams of educators will continue to meet in the coming days and weeks to work on the many details and decisions that need to be made.  There are some details and rationale I want to share with you as part of this update:

Return date?  November 3.  This will line up with the end of the grading period and also fall right after important testing cycles in the district.  The return will be for current blended students only, remote students will be evaluated at semester.

Who is returning?  K-8, Blended students only.  This is due to the guidance of the LCHD.  BHS students will stay on the current Blended model at this time.  We are working on it.

How many days?  4 days – Tuesday through Friday, Monday will remain remote for all to maintain Schoology and clean. This will be in effect through the end of this semester (January 14).  In the event we get closings of classrooms, buildings, or the district, it will be important to use Schoology.  Once we are in for four days successfully we will begin to develop a plan for 5 days at semester in case we can go that direction.

Social Distancing?  Social distancing will be an issue so it will continue to be vital that everyone wears a mask.  Social distancing will cause an issue at lunch.  There will need to be an empty seat between each student and that has been deemed as enough space.  Lunches will need to be staggered and the use of other rooms will likely be necessary.  Students will sit in assigned seats, be dismissed to the line where they will wait in socially distanced lines, return to the lunch table, remove masks, eat, then put the mask back on immediately.  Assigned seating in the classrooms and lunch rooms will be necessary for tracing.

Switching classes?  Yes.  This will be permitted while wearing masks.

Band and Choir?  Not inside or for the foreseeable future

Physical education?  Yes, with masks

Lockers?  Yes, lockers will be allowed.  We will not be permitting students to stand at lockers and visit with their friends.

Communication plan to staff/parents?  That is starting today.

Transportation?  Some bus stop time changes will occur due to the full return. The Transportation Department is working with building principals to coordinate the needed changes to accommodate building schedules. New times will be communicated in advance of November 3.  With social distancing not possible, masks will continue to be mandatory while riding the bus.

Sanitizing / Disinfecting? This continues to be a top priority for all staff and will continue to receive the same team approach.  Custodial staff as well as teachers will utilize any break between classes to wipe down and disinfect contact areas before a new group of students arrive whenever possible.

Teacher quarantined:  If a teacher gets quarantined, the whole class may have to go remote to Schoology if no substitute is available.

Breakfast in classroom:  Breakfast will be in the classrooms with social distancing as much as possible.  Limit the time masks are removed to the period of time it takes to eat.

Lunch:  assigned seats (see Social Distancing also)

Calamity days:  We cannot miss more days due to weather.  Snow/Fog/Ice days will now be remote days on Schoology rather than a cancelled day.

Can plans change?  Yes.  There are many factors beyond our control that could force us to alter our plans.

Questions?  If you have questions related to the return, please email Questions@bcs-k12.org  You can also call the Board Office at (937)593-9060

Going forward, you can expect to receive many updates.  Please check FinalForms, the district’s Facebook page and the district’s website frequently.  These are complex decisions that are being made with the dual purpose of providing our students with the best possible education and being mindful of the health and safety of all.  As we work to move to full in-person learning four days per week, our goals remain the same:

·         Continues our tradition of a high-quality education

·         Protects the health and safety of our students and staff

·         Keeps our students in school as a result of our actions

Our school year began so successfully due to the tremendous amount of thought and planning that went into a great start.  In order to be great on November 3, that same thoughtfulness and attention to details will be required again.  I know we have the ability to do it again.  Please continue to be patient with us and check for updates frequently.

Sincerely,

Brad Hall

Superintendent

Bellefontaine City School District