Reopening Plan

July 15, 2020

Hello Falcon Friends!

Below is our long-awaited Reopening Plan! It is a lot to process, so I will summarize by saying that we will reopen on time (August 17th) with six feet of social distance and no masks while students are seated at their desks. Here are the details…
Survey Results of Parent Preferences

• 20% prefer to learn at home home
• 30% prefer to learn in school, but are flexible
• 50% prefer to learn in school

The Next Survey

• We will resurvey all families again on August 1st for a formal registration into one of our three learning models (see below).
• At that time, you will be committing to one model for August and September. After that, we will allow changes at the beginning of each month and we will do our best to accommodate special requests along the way. 

The St. Christopher Restart Plan

• We will utilize all 3 of the below learning models when we reopen in August: 
• Full-time Learning from Home
• Per the survey, this model currently represents 20% of our students.
• Full live streaming at home five days per week at regular class times.
• 3-2 Blended Learning
• Per the survey, this model currently represents 30% of our students.
• If you answered “I prefer my child learn in school, but I am flexible”, then we will be asking you to participate in the 3-2 Blended Model:
• Week A: 3 days in school, 2 days live streaming at home.
• Week B: 3 days live streaming at home, 2 days in school.
• Full-time Learning in School
• Per the survey, this model currently represents 50% of our students.
• Learning in the building five days per week.
• All classes will be live-streamed and recorded.
• Every student will receive a school-supplied Chromebook regardless of the learning model selected.

The current survey results and the above three models allow us to do the following:

• 6 feet of social distancing
• Students will wear masks while entering and exiting the building, and while standing or walking in the building.
• Students will not be required to wear masks while seated at their desks.
• Teachers must wear face coverings at all times. 

Exceptions to the above

• Any student on a special education plan is invited and encouraged to be in the building five days a week.
• Kindergarten and 1st-grade students are invited and encouraged to be in the building five days a week.
• We will convert some of our larger non-classroom spaces into classrooms.
• These classes will also be live-streamed if parents still prefer their children to learn at home.
• If possible, we will add other grades to this list, as our data analysis continues.
• We will do our best to make sure children from the same family are on the same schedule.

Masks

• We are asking parents to buy masks for their children ahead of time, so you can find the right fit and comfort level before the first day of school.
• Masks must be “school appropriate” and we reserve the right to deem a mask inappropriate.
• The school will provide single-use disposable masks in the building for situational needs.

Still In Process

• We are working on a checklist of 290 items from the State of Ohio.
• Safety Plan
• Our local health district will be providing a Safety Plan template and we will use that as the foundation of our plan.
• Some common topics: 
• We will check the temperature of every person upon entering the building.
• Students will wash their hands at the beginning, middle, and end of the day.
• Building Cleaning
• We will perform a deep cleaning of high contact areas prior to the start of the school year and every weekend.
• We will spray a protectant prior to the start of the school year and every two weeks.
• We will disinfect high contact areas prior to the start of the school year and daily after school.
• We will have a Sick Person Policy explaining when and how people will be quarantined.
• We will have a separate Isolation Room for people with COVID-19 symptoms.
• Hand Sanitizers have been installed in every classroom and in high traffic areas.
• Class Schedule
• We will maintain our original August 17th start date.
• Cohorts: we will attempt to keep students in the same group/cohort all day long, minimize travel in the hallway, and minimize contact with non-cohort students.
• Whenever possible, the teachers will travel to the students.
• Cafeteria
• Students will be eating in their classrooms.
• We will either deliver lunches to the classrooms or students will be sent to the cafeteria in small groups to buy lunches.
• Buses
• We have not received formal plans from any district yet.
• Parent Technology Training
• We will offer technology training for parents one week prior to the start of school.
• Parents are not expected to be their child’s primary teacher, but it is important for parents to understand the technology being used by teachers and students. 

Full Building Closure

• If the governor closes schools at some point in the future, we will transition to a full live-streaming distance-learning model for all students.

Tuition

• Unfortunately, we cannot offer a tuition decrease for students learning from home. Tuition dollars do not even cover the cost of our teachers, let alone our other fixed and variable costs.
• We receive significant subsidies from St. Christopher Parish, the State of Ohio, and the Federal Government, and it is likely one or more of these subsidies will decrease this year.
• Any potential decrease in variable operating expenses will be offset by our increased expenditure in distance learning technology. 

Town Hall Meetings

• We will be offering virtual Town Hall Meetings next week to review the above material and answer questions.
• You are welcome to attend any or all of the meetings, but we are grouping grades on certain days because some content may be grade specific.
• All meetings will use the same Google Meet link (below). Google Meet allows one to join with or without video via any device using the below link:
• Town Hall Google Meet Link
• You can also join with only audio via your phone:
• +1 302-481-5172‬ (PIN: ‪655 871 097‬#)
• Meeting Times
• Monday (7:00 PM): Kindergarten & 1st Grade
• Tuesday (7:00 PM): 2nd and 3rd Grades
• Wednesday (7:00 PM): 4th and 5th Grades
• Thursday (7:00 PM): 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades
• Friday (12:00 PM): Open Meeting
• We will send the above Google Meet information again on Monday.

Questions

• Please feel free to send me your questions ahead of time using the below Google Form link. This will allow me to be better prepared for the Town Hall Meetings and also publish an FAQ.
• Reopening Question Form Link

Thank you for your patience while we developed and continue to develop our plan. Much can change between now and August 17th, but St. Christopher is committed to delivering educational excellence with safety in every scenario.

Please mark your calendars for the August 1st registration/survey. We will need an accurate and efficient turnaround on your responses. Thank you in advance!

It has been a pleasure and an honor serving you these past forty-five days.
God Bless & Go Falcons!

Mr. O’St. Christopher School Principal
toloughlin@stchrisfalcons.org
937.898.5104