Clinton Township Newsletter

1 7 s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 0 Question: Will all grades for Virtual Academy have a live Zoom meeting each morning at the same time (not the same time each morning as a class, but rather all grades having the morning meeting at the same time daily)? With three children, will we have to manage having a quiet space for each of them to be able to attend those meetings at the same time? Answer: This is a concern - we want to make live interaction a hallmark of learning remotely. At this time, I do not know the exact schedules. Samples were given in the plans and may be adjusted. I would want that feedback if there was an issue once we begin so that the teachers can be made aware and adjust schedules. We will also run recorded pieces so that lessons can be available for viewing at any time, or multiple times. However, we can adjust schedules so that live interaction is accessible. Question: My daughter was in K last year and had a hard time wanting to sign on and complete school work, as there were only suggested activities. I know you said you took into consideration feedback from the surveys, so will K-3 have actual assignments and live instruction to complete each day and turn in? Answer: In the hybrid model, students will follow a schedule and receive daily instruction. Instruction will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous. Additional time will be allotted at the beginning of the year for our younger children to teach them how to access and navigate the school devices and digital platforms and access the online resources. Time spent with live instruction at the younger grades will evolve and increase as students learn to utilize the devices and platforms. (Students will be taught how to access the live instruction, before being expected to do so on a daily basis.) Question: Regarding masks, we know that mask effectiveness is linked to porosity. Will there be certain types of cloth face coverings that will be used? Answer: Per New Jersey guidelines, the cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or medical grade N-95 respirators. Different types of face coverings can be explored to ensure each child's ability to wear the mask comfortably, including cloth masks and gator-neck masks. To wear correctly, it must be ensured that your child can breathe through the face covering and that your child's nose and mouth is covered. Please visit: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html?referringSource=a rticleShare for more information about how to appropriately wear a face mask. Question: What do you think the probability is of a positive Covid-19 case in the school district? What is the plan once that occurs? Answer: Our district is in collaboration with the Hunterdon County Health Department to monitor incident rates in Clinton Township. Our District established a response protocol for suspected COVID-19 individuals and when notified of a positive COVID-19 case by the Hunterdon County Health Department. The protocol outlines response paths based on the type of incident or illness identified. The response protocol includes: ● Noticeable illness procedures ● Suspected or confirmed Positive COVID-19 individual procedures ● Respectful Isolation guidelines ● Quarantine guidelines ● Outbreaks Determination Note: These may only be declared by the Hunterdon County Health Department and school doctor in consultation with the Superintendent ● Contact Tracing Question: If we already completed the technology survey stating that our child has a Chromebook of her own to use, will she still be given a Chromebook by the school to use? We do not want our Chromebook leaving the house, especially being transported to school by our seven year old. Answer: The district has ordered Chromebooks for each PMG student to use throughout the school year. As soon as the new Chromebooks are received in the district, we will make arrangements for device distribution to all PMG students, even if it has been indicated that there is a personal device at home that may be used. Students are not expected to bring personal devices from home into school. Question: If we send a face shield into school with our children, will they be allowed to wear them during mask breaks and snack time? Answer: We encourage the wearing of face shields when students are taking a mask break and during snack . Question: How are fire and lockdown drills handled through this for students in school? They would be in close proximity. Answer: We have received guidance from the NJ Fire Marshall and the NJ Department of Homeland Security regarding security and fire drills. Lockdown drills will not be activated in the first two months of school and we will conduct other forms of mandated drills which do not require students to be in close proximity. Question: Will the virtual academy teachers be CTSD teachers? Some districts are farming it out, and that makes me hesitant. Answer: The teachers in the Virtual Academy will be employed by the Clinton Township School District. Question: Will the same teacher be the in person teacher and virtual teacher for our children? Answer: Staffing assignments have not been finalized. However, we anticipate that your child will receive the same cohort of teachers for both in-person and virtual instruction. Question: At RVS and CTMS, students are expected to wear masks throughout the day. Many students face tremendous anxiety about returning to school, and they can sometimes be reluctant to share this anxiety with the class or teacher. Can we consider making a building based procedure where mask breaks are treated like bathroom breaks? This way students that are apprehensive about being in a classroom with peers that don't have their masks on can feel safe while at school. This will also address any inconsistencies that can occur with allowing teachers to designate their group's break times. We can do this by setting aside a designated area in the building such as a breakout area, where a staff member can monitor the kids, they can socially distance themselves, take a five-minute break, and then return to class. We can limit the number of people leaving the class to ensure the 'mask break area" doesn't become temporarily over populated. Answer: This is a possibility and can be reviewed. In addition, we recommend that students become acclimated to masks over the summer. Different types of face coverings can be explored, including cloth masks, disposable medical masks and gator-neck masks. One of our district's Behavior Specialists will be sharing resources to help students learn to be more comfortable wearing masks. Question: Why aren't temperatures being taken before children get on the bus? Answer: Parents will pre-certify their child's health prior to the child leaving the home. The temperature check is a secondary screening measure and may be taken when students reach school by district staff. It would be difficult for a bus driver to take temperatures along with the other responsibilities of maintaining safety and efficiency of transport. Question: Will the school supplies ordered through the PTA be provided to us when picking up Chromebooks if we choose the Virtual Academy option? Answer: If PTA bulk supplies are delivered to the school buildings prior to the Chromebook pick up dates they can be distributed to families who are participating in the Virtual Academy. Question: Is it possible to stagger the dismissal times between PMG and RVS to be longer than five minutes? For families with kids in both schools it will be difficult to manage pickups with only a five minute difference. Answer: The current dismissal pick up window is 15-20 minutes, plus the five minutes of staggered time. Families who pick up in multiple schools simply need to make the office aware, and students will be kept safe in the school until parental arrival. We are checking with transportation to see if five additional minutes can be added to PMG's dismissal time. Question: How are cohorts A and B determined? Is it alphabetical and A-L, M-Z? Can we change cohorts now if there is a childcare/work need? Answer: Cohorts A/B for Hybrid Learning are determined alphabetically. Families will be in the same cohort, A or B, even if there are different last names in the same family. On an individual basis cohort placements will be reviewed. Question: Will virtual classes maintain the typical teacher-student ratio? We have never had more than 22 kids in our class. I feel this is just as important, if not more, with virtual learning, than in person learning, as it takes more time to connect with remote students. Answer: Our Virtual Academy classes will maintain typical class sizes or smaller to meet the needs of the students. Question: Would we have the option to switch assigned cohort groups? Answer: Families can choose to move from Virtual Academy to Hybrid Learning at the end of Marking Period 1 if they no longer want to participate in Virtual Academy. Families in Hybrid Learning can move into Virtual Academy at any time and do not need to wait until the end of the marking period. Question: To follow up on the previous comment about teaching the students about Coronavirus, will we be developing age-appropriate actual curricula about the virus in our health classes? Answer: Having age-appropriate discussions and teaching students about health and safety will be a part of our lessons. Question: How does Virtual Academy work? Answer: Virtual Academy instruction will be delivered remotely to a cohort of students. This will be separate from the Hybrid model cohorts. Students will receive the same grade level curriculum in this model as the Hybrid model. n

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