fall return to school
TRANSCRIPT
Outline for Today
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1. Students’ and Staff Social-Emotional Well-being
2. Healthy School Environment
3. In-Person Learning
4. Virtual Academy
5. Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
6. Newcomers
7. Contingency Plans
Social Emotional Learning and Restorative Justice
• Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
o Cohort 1 of Leader in Me SEL Curriculum includes 9 clusters
o More than 4,000 staff participated in 3-day trainings this summer
o Planning for implementation and integration into the school day
o Cohort 2 and three schools will continue teaching lessons on research-based competencies
• Student Well-Being Teams will remain in place
o Responded to 9,944 referrals for student and family support in SY 2020–2021
• Restorative Justice (RJ)
o More than 14,000 staff completed Restorative Justice training supported by County Council and ESSER allocations: 13,208 MCEA, 879 SEIU
o Middle and High school RJ Coaches identified to support implementation
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Social Emotional Support for Staff
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• Employee Assistance Program
o Helping staff access free-of-charge services
o Workshops, support groups, and Well Being Matters video series covering such topics as anxiety, resiliency, and work/life balance
o Quarterly impact analysis
• Well Aware Employee Wellness Program
o Virtual exercise and mindfulness classes
o Medical planning
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Individual: Face masks are required in all MCPS facilities and on buses, regardless of vaccination status, and frequent hand washing is routine. PPE will be delivered quarterly
Facilities: School facilities will be regularly sanitized and equipped with cleaning supplies; ventilation and air quality will be monitored.
Testing: In-school COVID-19 screening tests will be implemented for prekindergarten through 6th grade students to provide early detection.
Vaccination: All staff are required to submit proof of vaccination or participate in weekly COVID-19 testing.
MCPS will implement a multi-layered health and safety protocol without limiting our ability to serve all students on premises, as MSDE requires.
Health and Safety: Our First Priority
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MCPS is participating in the Maryland Department of Health(MDH)/Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) COVID-19 screening testing program. This preventative asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic COVIDtesting and provides early detection of COVID spreads.
• Consent - Parents/guardians Pre-K–6 students consent to weekly testing
• Weekly Random Sample - Weekly, the screening program randomly tests 10 percent of the eligible consenting population at each school
• Tests - The approved testing vendors use a variety of oral or lower nasal swab test kits that are easy to administer and do not hurt
• Professionally Administered - Onsite healthcare staff, provided through the MDH program, will assist in test administration
• Start - Testing will begin in September
Screening Test for Pre-K–6 Students
DistinctionsIsolation
• An individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is sick (level of symptoms could be varied)
• Separates sick people with a contagious disease from those who are not sick
• Students that are experiencing illness may make up work once they are well
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Quarantine
• A individual who was in close contact* with a person positive for COVID-19 may enter quarantine
• Separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick
• Typical individual in quarantine is not sick and is available for learning experiences
*CDC defines close contact as within <6 feet, for 15 or more minutes in 24-hour period; in the K–12 indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student if both the infected student and the exposed student(s) were wearing masks
Quarantine and Vaccination Status
Vaccinated Individuals
• Do not need to quarantine following a close contact to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, unless symptoms develop or test positive
• Recommended that fully vaccinated individuals get tested between 3-5 days after exposure
• If asymptomatic, may continue to report in person during this time and while waiting for test results
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Unvaccinated Individuals
• Required to quarantine for ten (10) days from the last date of close contact to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19
• There are no testing exemptions for unvaccinated staff or students to shorten the quarantine period
Definitions of QuarantineIndividual Student Quarantine
• Individual student(s) who may not all be from the same homeroom or class period, who have tested positive for COVID or had close contact to someone who has tested positive.
• In most cases, all other students in the class remain in person.
• Example: Student tests positive, but has not recently been in school or class
• Example: Student is in direct contact with a positive person in their family or at an event, but they personally are not sick.
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Whole Class Quarantine
• Group of students from the same homeroom or class all in quarantine due to shared, direct exposure to an individual with a positive case.
• All students and staff in the impacted class will transition to virtual learning for that class (period for secondary).
• Example: Student tests positive, and has recently been in close contact with others at school. Contact tracing determines the extent of potential exposure; if all students are determined to be close contacts, the entire class would quarantine.
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• Ventilation - MCPS assessed all existing systems, replaced HVAC filters to highest MERV filter, added additional air cleaners where necessary, and extended HVAC system run time to “flush” air
• Product safety - Trained staff only will use approved safe and nonhazardous disinfecting/sanitizing products
• Cleaning and Disinfecting - MCPS building service staff will continue to regularly clean and disinfect all high-touch areas. Special attention will be given to the following for cleaning and disinfecting:
• door handles;
• light switches;
• restrooms in common areas
Our Buildings
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• All students will be served breakfast and lunch at no charge
• Schools are encouraged to take advantage of all available seating options(indoor/outdoor) to reduce density/capacity in cafeterias
• Principals, with support from OTLS and OFO, will develop and share theirschedules, lunch plans, and interest in purchasing flexible indoor/outdoorseating options with their DLAA
• Possible elementary school approaches:
o Elementary students will be assigned tables by class
o Identify some grade levels to eat in classrooms
o Utilize safe outdoor seating, such as courtyards
• Possible secondary school approaches:
o Open up all levels of buildings for students to eat in hallways
o Resume off campus open lunch
Lunch and Flexible Use Space
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Lunch and Flexible Use
Indoor/Outdoor Picnic Table
Picnic Seat
Student Lap Desk
Stack stools
Indoor/Outdoor Floor Cushion
In-Person Learning• Return to a more balanced approach of physical and
digital tools
• Work-based learning in real-life work settings throughinternships and apprenticeships
• Peer-to-peer collaboration
• Re-establishing social interaction and relationships
• In alignment with the Evidence of Learning framework, assessing student learning will begin in September
• Data will inform planning, supports, and interventions
Approach: Acceleration, Not Remediation
● Acceleration—moving forward with grade-level content and only addressing prerequisite skills and concepts from the previous grade as necessary, when they’re needed to work with grade-level content
● Learning recovery opportunities will be strategically and intentionally infused into ongoing instruction
Office Partnerships
● Hiring
● Curriculum Planning and
Resources
● Supervision
● ESOL and Special Education
● Social Emotional Learning
● Supplies & Materials
School Partnerships
● Increased Access to Courses
● HS Scheduling Fair
● Internships
● Montgomery College
● CTE Half-day Programs
● Abbreviated Schedules
● Work Opportunities
Preservice Secondary Orientation Elementary Orientation
August 23rd - August 27th Thursday, August 26th Friday, August 27th
By the numbers...
*As of August 19, 2021
3,500 2402,430AcceptedApplied Withdrawn
730Applied after deadline*
MCPS Athletics UpdateReturn to R.A.I.S.E. Plan
• COVID-19 Task Force for MCPS Athletics -
42nd meeting tomorrow
• All students eligible to start
• Committing to smart choices outside of school
• Responding to positive COVID-19 cases
• Importance of vaccinations
Summer
• Successful workshop – more than 10,000
contests scheduled
• One reported COVID-19 case during summer
conditioning
• Commitment to safety - Fall Heat Plan
High School Fall Season
• Two weeks complete - games begin
September 3
• Approximately 8,620 students and
500 coaches participating
• Spectators, concessions, admissions
• NFHS Network - streaming games
• Appreciation to athletics coaches
Middle School Fall Season
• Begins September 9
• Cross Country, Boys’ & Girls’ Softball
• Appreciation to athletic coordinators
and coaches
Extracurricular Activities Update
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Return to In-Person Engagement
● The MCPS extracurricular and fine arts programs will fully resume in person
● All students are eligible for extracurricular activities
● Extracurricular Activities Director, After School Supervisor and Academic Monitor are additional staffing support
● Students, staff, and guests will follow COVID-19 mitigation strategies
● Dance ensembles/classes, drama clubs/classes, choral and instrumental music programs are expected to follow specific COVID-19 safety guidelines
● Extra precautions will be expected for vocalists and wind musicians when participating: face coverings, special singer or musician masks, instrument bell covers, social distancing, and hand hygiene
Meeting Newcomers’ Social and Academic Needs
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• Newcomers: children born outside the United States and entering
the country within the last three years
• $1.6 million in supplemental funding: transition coordinator, 8 ESOL
transition counselors, 6 limited and interrupted education coaches;
also, professional development
• Focus on training for cultural responsiveness
• Multilingual student support, student services staff, security teams,
all teachers and paraeducators
• Student data monitoring: attendance data, graduation rates,
assessment data, classroom data, multiple measures to inform course
placement and monitor progress for English Learners
Planning and Design Boundaries
Fall Design team has met from May to date to:
• Organize around the existing MSDE requirementsfor in person learning at 100 percent capacity, 5 days per week
• Plan for circumstances that might include student quarantine and instructional access
• Establish planning frameworks together with SEIU, MCEA, MCAAP, and our community partners based on shifting national, state, and local guidance
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Quarantine Instructional Access Standards
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Parents can expect from school quarantine plans:
• Live instruction in core content
• Wrap around support services
• Morning check-ins
• Afternoon review of student work
• Not simultaneous instruction or “zooming” into class
Elementary Standards Secondary Standards
Parents can expect from school quarantine plans:
• Opportunity to Zoom with their regular teachers for each class
• Wrap around support services
• Morning check-ins
• Not simultaneous instruction or “zooming” into class
School Perspective: Arcola Elementary
• 100% in person since July 12
• Currently serving more than 600 students and 100 staff
• Lunch contact tracing and assigned seats
• Quarantine and instructional access
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Contingency for Hybrid Instruction*
• Our focus in MCPS is 5 days per week in-person instruction for all students
• If state agencies dictate an expectation of minimum physical distancing or occupancy, students would be either all in person or in a combination of in person plus virtual. This does not include an all virtual option
• All students will have a dedicated instructional experience, either in person OR a combination of in person and virtual.
*Should the need arise
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