As we prepare to welcome teachers, staff, and students back to our buildings for the 2020-2021 school year the district has been working diligently to implement the changes outlined in A Strong and Healthy Start: Safety and Health Guidance for Vermont Schools. While not a comprehensive list, the following outlines some of the bigger changes that will happen district-wide. Each school will further communicate building-specific information and changes.

Arrival and Transportation

• Before entering our school buildings, all students and staff will complete a daily health check which will include having their temperature taken and answering a few questions about COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Students who are riding the bus will have their temperatures taken as they board the bus. Any individuals determined to have a fever will be sent home immediately. Parents/caregivers must plan for this scenario and be available to pick up their child if required.
• We are encouraging families who can transport their children to do so. This will allow for better distancing on the bus for those families who rely on district transportation. We are evaluating the traffic flow at all of our buildings to better handle the increased car traffic.
• Students riding the bus will be required to wear a facial covering. They will use hand sanitizer before boarding and will be assigned a seat. All buses will be cleaned and disinfected before and after every route.
• To protect students’ safety and provide for more orderly temperature taking, students will enter and exit each building through assigned entry points.

Facial Coverings and Distancing

• The AOE is requiring all students, staff, and visitors to wear facial coverings (masks). We recommend that families use this summer to try out some different styles of facial coverings so they can begin to identify which works best for their child. CSD will work to provide masks for those who cannot purchase their own.
• Face masks may be removed when eating, drinking, and outside so long as students and staff are able to maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.
• Individually-packed student meals will be served in classrooms.
• Classroom seating will be adapted to accommodate physical distancing to the best extent possible.
• There will not be any indoor assemblies that bring students together in a large group.

Hygiene and Cleaning

• Students and staff will be frequently reminded about the importance of proper handwashing. We will place hand sanitizer units throughout our buildings and ensure all of our bathrooms are properly stocked with soap and towels. Signage will be placed throughout the buildings to reinforce good hygiene practices.
• The entire building will undergo enhanced cleaning and disinfection on a regular basis. Frequently-touched surfaces will be cleaned often.

Classrooms

• Classroom seating will be configured with maximum allowable space between students and whenever possible, desks and tables will face the same direction.
• Employees will modify instructional plans to reduce student contact, sharing of materials or equipment and maintain appropriate social distancing to the greatest extent possible.

Personal Items

• The borrowing and sharing of any items will be restricted.
• The use of reusable water bottles will be encouraged.

Outdoor Recess (Elementary)

• Face masks will not be required outside, as long as 6 feet of distance can be maintained at all times.
• Playground equipment will remain closed.
• Students will be prompted to wash their hands before and after recess.

Visitors and Field Trips

• In an effort to strictly limit the number of visitors into our buildings, we will not be allowing classroom volunteers or visitors.
• There will be no field trips.

Public Use of School Buildings

• All school buildings will be open to employees, students, service providers, and essential vendors ONLY. The buildings will remain closed to the public. (The primary election on August 11 will be an exception.)
• The public may use exterior school grounds and there will be outdoor recess space for students but the playgrounds will remain closed.