The department of health requirement is that all students and staff will wear appropriate cloth masks. Exceptions can only be made with health department approval based on a valid health reason. 

If a student has a confirmed diagnosis, they will be quarantined until they are no longer contagious. All students and staff who had close contact with that student will be notified.

If TWO or more students in a cohort group are diagnosed, the entire cohort group will be quarantined for ten days.

AM and PM groups will be geographically defined. Children living inside Othello city limits will be in the AM group. Students outside city limits will be the PM group, with transportation.

Yes. All students and staff will be required to wear an appropriate cloth facial covering. Exceptions can be made to allow an alternate type of face covering with valid health reasons.

Every student is expected to wear a mask at all times. Students will not be permitted to ride a bus without a mask. Drivers will have a limited number of masks available, but hte expectation is that each student will bring their own. 

Facial coverings are a health department requirement. Students who refuse to wear an appropriate facial covering will not be able to remain in class.

Yes. We are offering an online-only plan for families who are not ready to send their children back yet. It will not be the same as the current online model.  

Yes, recess is a very important part of the learning day! Social distancing guidelines will be in place but recess will continue.

Parents will be expected to submit a daily screening form stating that their child does not have any COVID symptoms. Schools will be equipped to take temperatures in limited cases. Universal screenings at schools are not recommended by the CDC due to the high percentage of asymptomatic cases.

As with any other illness, we can’t provide that kind of guarantee. We are offering an online only option for families who have health and safety concerns that prevent them from wanting to send their children back to school at this time. 

We have installed MERV 13 filters in all of our HVAC systems. These are the highest level of filtration we can purchase and they can filter the COVID virus. Our HVAC systems are not designed for this level of restriction and we may have to switch back to MERV 11.

Custodial staff, continue normal daily cleaning and sanitizing practices they have been doing even before covid-19 and help with any other duties wherever possible.

Current normal daily cleaning and sanitizing:

• Vacuuming, sweeping and mopping
• Garbage removal
• All restrooms (everywhere)
• Classrooms sinks, faucets and drinking fountains and countertops around the sink
• Common drinking fountains
• High touch points such as doors, door windows and door handles/crash bars.
• Common areas touch points such as staff rooms, work rooms, and lunch rooms

Teachers, Para's, Secretaries, etc. (all hands on deck approach) will be responsible to sanitizing or have students help:

• Personal workstations
• Student Desks
• Student Chairs
• Classroom tables
• In between students or parent transitions (cohorts)

Classrooms will only be “cleaned” once a day, but sanitization will be done frequently throughout the day.

Cleaning and sanitizing are two different things and should not be characterized as the same.

The current online model will not be an option. Students who opt out of returning in the blended model will continue their education online using a learning management system. 

There will be asynchronous online resources for students that compliment their in-person lessons. In the blended model, your child will only be in school for about 50 percent of their normal time. The rest of the time will be filled with online learning. 

Children over age 8 are required by law to attend school. You may opt out of the blended learning plan and remain fully online. The online experience will be different from what we currently have.