The Blair Oaks R-2 School District created safety precautions and guidelines for summer school, which begins June 22.
The Blair Oaks Board of Education reviewed and approved the summer school plan at its Tuesday meeting. The board also elected Nicki Russell as president, Doug Moeller as vice president, Tim Luebbering as treasurer and Audrey Feely as secretary.
Summer school was originally planned for May 27, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Blair Oaks administrative team formed a task force to plan the best way to hold summer school safely. The task force included health services staff, buildings and grounds staff, guidance staff, food services staff, building leadership team members, transportation staff and parents.
The task force met with members of the Cole County Health Department to hear their recommendations. Eldon Superintendent Matt Davis also spoke to the task force about the safety precautions the Eldon R-1 School District is taking with summer school.
The task force then evaluated which strategies would work best for Blair Oaks, Superintendent Jim Jones said.
There are about 400 students enrolled in summer school, Jones said. There will be 40 staff members - which is more than normal - to ensure each class will have 20 students or less. Each class will have assigned seating.
Multiple cafeterias will be used to serve meals, and students will be spaced out as much as possible in the classroom and cafeteria. There will also be more time between lunch shifts to allow staff to clean the cafeteria and avoid groups of students walking past each other.
The custodial team will deep clean the buildings before summer school starts. The classrooms, restrooms, playground equipment and Chromebooks will be cleaned each day, and there will be a schedule for students to wash hands.
Staff will also promote safety precautions such as hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes and encourage students to bring water bottles and not use the drinking fountains.
There will be more bus routes than normal to have 43 students or less on each 65-passenger bus. Buses will be disinfected between each route, and family members will sit together when possible. Students and staff will try to maintain social distancing during bus loading as well as drop-off and parent pickup. When students are loading the bus, they will fill the seats from back to front.
The staff will try to keep building doors open in the morning and classroom doors open while students are arriving so people do not have to touch the handles. The handles will be cleaned throughout the day.
Staff is encouraging parents to take the students' temperatures before school each day and to not bring an ill child to school. Staff members will also take their own temperatures before work.
Building access will be limited to essential employees and students. Parents will not be allowed inside. If somebody else must go into the building, a staff member will document their name and reason for being there and note the areas of the building they were in. When students arrive at school, they must go directly to their classroom.
If there is confirmation a person who has COVID-19 was in a school building, administration will immediately contact the Cole County Health Department, close the building (or area of building when applicable), cancel school activities, and work the health department to trace contacts with that person and determine the likelihood of exposure to other people in the building, the number of cases in the community and when the building should reopen. Parents, students and employees will be notified about the situation and encouraged to stay home.
If a student has a temperature of 100 or higher, that student and the student's siblings will be sent home for the rest of the day. If the sibling does not have any symptoms of illness, they can return to school the next day. The student who had a fever will not be able to return until they have not had a fever or any other symptoms for at least 48 hours.
Students or employees who test positive for COVID-19 can return to school after their isolation order from the Cole County Health Department expires.
If somebody has had close contact with somebody who tested positive, the Cole County Health Department will notify them and issue a 14-day quarantine. If an essential staff member has close contact with somebody who tested positive, they may be permitted to work with personal protective equipment and distancing.
Students or employees who had recent contact with a person who is suspected of having COVID-19 or who recently traveled somewhere that the CDC considers a "hotspot" may also be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
As soon as the district becomes aware of a student or employee who may have COVID-19, the custodial staff will be informed so they can disinfect the person's lockers, desks and workspaces.
There will be a separate room for people who may have COVID-19 to wait to be evaluated or picked up. Only essential staff and students assigned to the room can enter - with personal protective equipment and social distancing. This room will be disinfected throughout the day.