Carson City School District discusses re-opening plans, would begin with hybrid schedule

According to the Carson City School District Reopening Plan, there will be three distinct models the District must plan for and be prepared to operate under, and the finalized plan should be in place for at least one full semester after school begins.

The starting date for the school year may be pushed back one week to begin at August 24 to allow for training and preparation of staff members.

The distinct models include:
a. 100 percent full return for in-person education at all district schools.
b. A Hybrid school schedule that meets governmental restrictions.
c. 100 percent teacher-led, remote learning schedule for parents who do not want to send their children to school or for operational purposes if schools are closed again.

The beginning of the 2020-2021 school year will start with a hybrid schedule, at all Carson City School District schools at all levels. All students will be placed in two Cohort groups. On Mondays, both groups will remain at home. Then, Group 1 will be at school in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Group 2 will be at school in person on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Some speciality cases, such as Comprehensive Life Skills and possibly Pre-K and Kindergarten will be allowed to attend 5 days a week, but these decisions will not be finalized until July 28.

According to Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes, students will have something to work on every day regardless if they will be on campus or not.

“What we’re going to try and accomplish is on the days when students are in-class or in front of the teacher, and the students who are at school are learning for example, fractions, the teacher will provide those students with at home practice before they leave,” said Stokes. “They might give them a video lesson they have recorded so if the student gets home and can’t remember how to set up a fraction problem, the prepared video will help them work through it.”

“There are a lot of opportunities that don’t require the teacher to be in front of the students the entire time,” said Stokes.

To make sure that every student has the same access to online learning during the hybrid week, the district is discussing using some of the CARES Grant Funding to purchase mobile hot spots that can be placed in the homes of students who do not have reliable access to a laptop or desktop in their homes.

According to a survey provided by the school district to the community, approximately ten percent of the school district families do not have access to reliable internet.

The District will be undertaking increased sanitation procedures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and other germs. According to Stokes, this includes a 2-day-a-week electrostatic mist disinfectant process, which utilizes specialized equipment and products that are aimed at killing bacteria and viruses. Then, four days a week the same system will be used in common areas of the school such as hallways, restrooms, cafeterias, and any area where the entire student body could gather during the course of the week.

“There will also be a 1 day a week in which custodians in each building will do a strip cleaning of surfaces that represent a high touch point such as door knobs, flat surface areas, etc.,” said Stokes. “In all of our schools people get sick, it happens, and when that occurs the custodians do additional cleanings at the location.”

In addition, an increase of ventilation will be taken using specific techniques aimed at pumping in fresh air from outside throughout the school.

According to the Carson City School District’s Public Information Officer, Dan Davis, the HVAC System of the district has previously won awards for being top of the line, and it won’t have any trouble increasing the ventilation within the schools.

One of the main points of contact will be school buses. According to the survey provided by the school district, 66.54 percent of those who responded stated that their children would not be riding a district bus for the upcoming school year.

According to Stokes, at the beginning of the school year families will be asked to declare whether or not their children will be riding the buses, and that way the district can properly evaluate how they will be able to provide safe transportation based on those calculations.

According to the survey, 40 percent of respondents stated that child care on at-home instruction days would be a challenge for their family.

According to Stokes, while the district is not involved in child care or babysitting, they have been discussing partnering with the City, the Boys and Girls Club, and private facilities to provide a list of resources to families who will have an issue with finding child care.

For students who rely on the district for nutrition, the district will continue to provide meals.

“We fully expect to provide qualifying students with free and reduced meals,” said Stokes.

One way would be to have “grab and go” prepackaged meals for students to take with them for their off-campus day, while they are on-campus receiving their lunch.

Additionally, on Mondays when there are no students at the school, meals would be ready for families to pick up as needed.

For the full plan draft, you can read the agenda here; the draft begins at page 157 on the July 14 agenda.

The reopening plan will be voted on at the July 28 school board meeting.