Melissa Voss | Editor
As summer is almost halfway done, schools are working to come up with a plan to reopen. Tri-Valley has been the first in the area to release a potential back-to-school plan to the public. Superintendent Mike Lodmel shared a 20-minute video to the Tri-Valley school district Facebook page addressing the current discussions within the school regarding its opening.
The Tri-Valley back-to-school task force has met twice on June 16 and June 29. The task force of thirty members consists of both parents and staff representing all areas of the school district such as administration, elementary, middle, and high school. Within that, Lodmel states that there is a great representation of individuals in the medical field, which he believes is a major benefit to have in making safe decisions.
Tri-Valley has received $150,000-$155,000 from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) in response to COVID-19. Lodmel discussed that this fund and their school year’s budget will be going toward several areas: a professional cleaning company, cleaning supplies for every room, masks, thermometers, hand sanitizing stations, shields for offices, and privacy shields for certain classrooms.
Throughout the first meeting, the task force discussed that the big areas to cover were bussing and allowance into the building. Although the Center of Disease Control (CDC) recommends that there is one child per bus row, Lodmel explained that that is not reasonably possible for the school since it would take 200 to 300 bus routes.
Instead the parents are asked to drive their children to school if necessary. If they are to ride the bus, a newly-hired bus monitor will take each child’s temperature and have them sanitize their hands. Face masks will be required on the bus and the bus monitor will be there to ensure that the children continue to wear them throughout the route.
Within the school, there are several changes that will revolve around sanitation and social distancing. Non-essential visitors will also not be allowed to enter the school building without school approval.
Face masks will not be required to be worn while in the school building. Lodmel explains that they will do their best to follow the wishes of the parent but will not strictly monitor each student.
“I use this as an example. Parents can ask us for children not to drink Mountain Dew at school. We will do our best to respect the parent’s wishes, but we are not going to chase the child down the hallway if they have a Mountain Dew. That is a discussion for the home between parent and child.”
Another discussion is to add another school nurse to the district. Lodmel states that with the continuous growth of the school district and the presence of COVID-19, it would be a good time to add on an additional hire.
As for school days, the task force unanimously passed on the idea of a four-day school week. This would allow three days of deep cleaning from Friday to Sunday as well as a staff professional preparation day on Friday. Having only four days a week allows the school to lose less instruction time if there were to be a positive case in the school, which requires the school five to seven days of deep cleaning before students are able to return. The plan will also save the school district money by cutting down on bus transportation costs such as gas and bus monitor pay. This money will be used toward the pay of the additional nurse.
This past Thursday’s meeting revolved around synchronous distance learning through Zoom for grades 7-12 and videotaped learning for grades K-6 if parents are not comfortable with their children coming back to school. Lodmel said that if the parent chooses this option over in-class learning, it must be a 9-week requirement and they will not be able to change over to the other option till after the 9 weeks.
This plan is not set-in-stone as it continues to be negotiated and needs the school board approval.