The Studio School Reopening Plan Submitted to the New York State Education Department December 1, 2020 the Studio School Is a Sm
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The Studio School Reopening Plan Submitted to the New York State Education Department December 1, 2020 The Studio School is a small, independent preschool through grade 8 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Our students learn to value intellectual and creative ideas, taking pleasure in the process of discovery. We seek a deep and lasting academic excellence, one that is achieved when children are motivated to embrace for themselves the journey of learning. We have prepared this comprehensive plan for reopening in compliance with the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Education guidelines for the year 2020-2021. This report was produced by our Studio School COVID-19 Task Force comprised of administrators, Board members, faculty, parents, and professional consultants. Since the pandemic began, we have been researching and planning Studio’s response to COVID-19. We have kept informed about guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, New York Department of Education, and the New York State Department of Health. We have sought expertise from medical professionals, building engineers, and environmental cleaning professionals. We have all endured, in these last several months, the stress the pandemic has caused for our community and world. Together, we continue to face various circumstances, at home and at work, with our health and safety, with adjusting to simple everyday living, and most of all in our relationships, especially with our children. Whether learning in-person, or through a distance or hybrid program, we have created plans that address the needs of our children, parents, and teachers. We can already see that The Studio School Approach and our How-To-Learn Curriculum, like in the physical classroom and school, have prepared the children for what lies ahead. Our safe reopening in the fall requires the commitment of all members of The Studio School community to do their part. We all must exercise care and caution in our daily activities by adhering to protocols with respect to wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), practicing social distancing, and engaging in self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19. Many programs and activities that have traditionally taken place will be scaled back, postponed, or even canceled in the interest of maintaining the health and safety of our community. We must be prepared to work together and to be flexible and vigilant in our commitment to caring for our own health and the health of those around us. Section I: Reopening Protocols and Procedures Requirement Plan Capacity: As a school with fewer than 120 students total, we are able to configure our Phasing and quantity of physical space to accommodate all students to attend in person each day, while students, faculty, and staff maintaining social distancing in accordance with the DOH guidelines. allowed to return in-person, considering factors such as For the first month we will begin with a hybrid plan to ensure that our health ability to maintain and safety plan is working effectively and allow for modifications if necessary. appropriate social distance, We will maintain no more than 50% occupancy in the building while the other personal protective percentage is working remotely with their teachers. After the first month, our equipment (PPE) Middle School will continue the hybrid plan of in-person learning 3 days/week availability, local medical and remote learning 2 days/week. Our Early Childhood and Elementary capacity, and availability of School cohorts will meet in-person 5 days/week. safe transportation We will return to full-time in-person learning when federal, state, and local authorities give their approval. Arrival and dismissal times will be staggered to de-densify common areas. Seating has been removed in public areas to avoid clustering. Parent meetings and conferences will be held remotely. Faculty and staff meetings will be held socially distanced and with PPE. Whenever possible, administrative staff will work remotely. The gym and lunchroom will be closed for their intended uses and used instead as additional classroom and administrative space. We do not offer school buses. We will, however, encourage faculty and families to walk, bike, or scoot to school, and encourage the formation of carpooling among cohorts of students. We will have additional PPE for any students or staff who may need it. Social distancing: Students and staff will maintain social distancing between individuals to Protocols and procedures reduce the transmission of the virus according to public health guidelines at for students, faculty, and the time, and be prepared to adjust social distancing if guidance from the CDC staff to ensure appropriate or DOH changes due to shifting public health data or evolving understanding social distancing when on of COVID-19. When social distancing may be difficult, including school grounds and in accommodating students with special healthcare needs or disabilities, or other school facilities. needs such as assisting with toileting, additional PPE will be provided, including face shields and gloves. Students will be kept in cohorts not to exceed the maximum number allowed by state guidance and, in any event, no more than groups of 12 students. Classes will be kept together to include the same cohort of students each day and with the same teacher and staff. When cohorts transition between rooms, the students will maintain appropriate distancing and only one cohort will be in a hallway or stairwell at a time. Physical barriers will be installed in areas, such as Reception, where the environment does not readily accommodate social distancing. All desks and chairs will be spaced six feet apart whenever students are working or have plastic dividers between the students. Desks will be staggered to provide a safer airflow path. When possible, classes will be held outdoors. Staff will ensure social distancing during outdoor play. Elevator use will be restricted and, when necessary, will be limited to two people or one family at a time. Activities that cause heavy breathing, such as dancing or physical education will take place outside with appropriate PPE and maintaining social distancing. Singing and chorus will take place remotely. PPE and Face Coverings: All students, faculty, staff, and essential visitors (such as inspectors or Protocols and procedures maintenance workers) are required to wear face coverings over both their for students, faculty, staff, mouth and nose when on school property, including the entrance area outside and other individuals to of the building and the outdoor play yard. The school will supply a face ensure appropriate PPE is covering for anyone entering the building who arrives without one, or whose used to protect against the covering becomes soiled or lost during the school day. transmission of the COVID- 19 virus when on school During arrival and dismissal, parents and caregivers are required to wear facial grounds and in school coverings over their mouth and nose. facilities. Plans for all students, faculty, and staff Students will be allowed to remove their face coverings when seated and to have the required PPE eating, while maintaining appropriate social distancing. (i.e., acceptable face coverings) before entering All students ages two and older will be required to wear facial covering. Facial school facilities, grounds, or coverings are developmentally appropriate when children can put on, take off, any other space owned or and not touch or suck on the covering, administered by the school Students who have a medical or behavioral reason for not wearing a facial or school district (e.g., covering will not be required to wear one. These decisions will be made in school buses) partnership with their parent or guardian. Staff working with students who are not able to wear face coverings due to an exception and who are not able to maintain social distancing, will be provided with increased protective equipment such as a face shield over a mask. Facial coverings may be removed in a seated, resting position, while socially distanced and outside. Operational Activity: For the first month we will begin with a hybrid plan to ensure that our health Determinations on how and safety plan is working effectively and maintain no more than 50% classes, shared spaces, and occupancy in the building with the other percentage working remotely with activities may be adapted in their teachers. various phases of learning and operations (e.g., When in-person classes are in session, they will be broken into cohorts not to identify which, if any, exceed the maximum number allowed by state guidance and in any event no students will be offered more than groups of 12 students. alternate approaches, such as alternative schedules or We have designated classrooms for specific cohorts and transformed common hybrids of in-person and rooms to allow for appropriate social distancing and cleaning between uses. remote learning; The gym and lunchroom will be closed for their intended uses and used instead how additional and as additional classroom space. alternative –school and non- school –spaces can be used Arrival and dismissal times will be staggered for different ages and programs. for, or in support of, in- As much as possible, we will schedule cohorts with siblings to arrive and person instruction; depart within a reasonable time frame. how such schedules could Students will be instructed not to hold their partner’s hand when moving as a be administered to create group inside and outside of the building. overlap for students from the same household; Encouraging the physical, emotional and psychological safety of students and adults is our priority. Students who have compromised immune systems, how shared spaces, such as impulse control issues, or other behavioral issues or disabilities who cannot cafeterias, libraries, follow public health guidelines and employees at high risk will be strictly playgrounds, and monitored to maintain social distancing or attend school remotely.