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Delwood CSD: RETURN TO LEARN PLAN
2023 - 2024 School Year
INTRODUCTION
The Delwood Community School District believes that the health of our students and staff is our top priority. We also believe that the education and care we provide our students is critically important. We appreciate and look forward to the opportunity to work with our students and their families to ensure that we can provide a safe and quality learning experience for all of our students.
FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS
It is the position of the Delwood Community School District that we are responsible for providing education and care to all the students we are so fortunate to serve. We also know that many of our families rely on us to provide quality care for their children while they serve other critical roles within the economy that we all mutually benefit from and depend upon. We faced many challenges in the past school year that we overcame, and are prepared to do the same as we move forward.
The foundation of our Return to Learn Plan has been developed based upon the following guiding principles:
The most rigorous and robust teaching and learning occurs in a classroom with a highly-qualified teacher and among other peers to collaborate with and learn from
Beyond the core academic subjects taught, school provides a safe learning environment where our students develop critical social and emotional intelligences necessary to succeed in the 21st century
When face to face learning cannot occur for any reason, our students need consistent, quality, student-driven learning opportunities guided by their teachers
Last, and perhaps most important, we must empower our families to make decisions that are in the best interest of their child(ren) and family
In our Return to Learn Plan we focused on the following objectives:
Maximize time in school for ALL students
Deliver quality, rigorous learning to ALL students
Develop consistent, fluid solutions to respond to any challenges
Design distance learning experiences that are teacher & student driven
As we approach the 2023 -2024 school year we are 100% committed to doing everything in our power to keep our school open for full days and at full capacity. In order to do so, it will be essential that we follow the guidelines put in place by the State of Iowa, the Department of Education, and the Health Department.
RETURN TO LEARN PLAN HIGHLIGHTS
In order to respond to the vastly different needs and perspectives of our families, we have developed a couple of options that we are asking each family to carefully consider.
Option #1 (Recommended Option): Moving forward, our number one priority will be to keep our schools operating on a traditional full day schedule serving all students. We will continue to collaborate with the health department and our local nurses to make sure that all staff and students are following protocols that are most likely to lead to increased attendance in school.
In the event that students must remain out of school, their absence will be handled similarly to a normal absence. Elementary students will have the option of requesting the work and materials from their teachers while they are out. Our teachers will also assume the responsibility of catching students up when they return in the case that students are not able to complete their work and learning while they are in quarantine. JH/HS students will continue to be able to access their learning materials via google classroom. Emails will be sent by administration as needed to keep our teachers updated on who they need to support in a distance learning format while they are absent. This support will include responding to emails, answering questions, providing learning support as available, and catching students up upon their return to school.
To reiterate our previously stated belief, we strongly believe that most students learn best in a classroom with a highly-qualified teacher and among other peers to collaborate with and learn from. However, in the event that a student is not able to access this preferred method of learning, we will be prepared to meet these students’ needs in an online learning environment offered by Edgenuity. Under no circumstance, are we considering closing our school or resorting back to virtual learning, unless we are forced to by the governor or other completely unforeseen circumstances emerge.
Option #2: We expect that this option will only pertain to a very limited number of families. However, we recognize that there may be families that are forced to make a difficult decision about returning to school due to increased risk factors in their home. These risk factors are particularly limited to significant health conditions that a child or caretaker may have that make them more susceptible to complications from COVID-19. In the event that someone in your family meets this criteria we encourage you to reach out to the school administration to discuss your options.. We will handle these situations on a case by case basis and will work with each of these families to develop a specific plan for each child in this type of situation. Please keep in mind that this option would be contingent upon the family being able to provide a doctor’s written verification.
This verification would need to specify the person’s name, the health condition, and the relation to the child.
● Technology: We have formed a partnership with other AEA member schools to be able to offer online education through Edgenuity.
● Resources: We have invested in the purchase of additional chromebooks. In the event that any of our students engage in online learning during the upcoming school year, we will be prepared to issue a chromebook to every student that we serve.
Special Education:
All students with disabilities receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will continue to be provided with a Free, Appropriate, Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Meetings with Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams will be reconvened as necessary to determine placement and delivery of services. Our AEA will help support IEP’s and assist with any amendments that need to take place.
Infrastructure:
● Technology such as chromebooks have been purchased and made available for students.
● Teachers have the technology they need to support their students
● Electrostatic cleaning equipment was purchased to help sanitize all spaces
● Drinking fountain fill stations have been made available to students
● Hand sanitizer has been purchased in abundance and is made available in spaces throughout the school
Mitigation Efforts:
Cleaning Handrails - Daily cleaning by custodial staff
Cleaning Doorknobs - Keeping your door open will help with this. Also, if teachers have concerns with their doorknobs being sanitized, they should wipe them with Clorox wipe throughout the day.
Drinking Fountains - look at getting the water for just the faucet either shut off or covered. The students will be able to fill their own water bottles from the water bottle refill area.
Bathrooms - Cleaned a minimum of once per day. Touched surfaces will be thoroughly sanitized.
Buses - No food on the bus. Bus will be sanitized according to standard protocol.
Procedure for teachers/staff if they see a student who is showing signs of being sick?
If a student is showing signs of illness, the school nurse will be contacted.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
In addition to teaching and learning, there will be many day to day decisions that will need to be made to ensure the health and safety of our students. We will continue the increased cleaning and sanitizing procedures that we have in place. Regardless of the challenges that lie ahead, we hope that you and your family are able to rest assured knowing that the Delwood CSD team will be prepared to provide your child(ren) a safe and meaningful learning experience during the 2023 - 2024 school year.