School Operations

2021–2022

THIS PAGE IS ARCHIVED.

PLEASE NOTE:

This page is for the past 2021-2022 school year. Please click here for current School Operations webpage.

Our COVID-19 Resources section can be found on this page.

Introduction

The Glastonbury Public Schools health and safety practices are developed and updated with guidance from the State of Connecticut and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

COVID-19 Resources and Dashboard

Click here: COVID Resources/Dashboard

Plans A, B, and C

Plan A is in-building learning for all students. Plan B is a hybrid plan (mix of in-school and eLearning) for students. Plan C is eLearning for all students. Please note that we would need Connecticut State Department of Education approval to go to plans B or C that involve eLearning.

We are currently operating during the 2021-2022 school year under Plan A.

At any time we may switch to another plan based on the spread of COVID-19 in our community, our state, and our nation.

Website Contents

Plan A: In-Building Learning for all Students

VaccinationsThe 3 W's: Wear a Mask. Wash Hands. Watch Distancing.Transportation, Drop-Off, Pick-Up, School VisitorsCleaning, Sanitizing, and Ventilation Illness Protocols, Testing, and Quarantines

Plan B: Hybrid

Plan C: eLearning from Home for all Students

School Meals

Plan A

Plan A is for In-Building Learning for All Students

(Updated 4/4/22) We will use a layered approach to health and safety practices to help protect our students and staff. This includes vaccination, optional mask wearing, testing, and isolation of those who test positive.

Vaccinations

At this time COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone ages 5 and up (updated 11/10/21). Vaccinations will help keep our schools and our community safe. We encourage you to contact your pediatrician with vaccination questions about your children. Vaccinations can help keep them safe from serious illness, learning, and active.

The 3 W’s— Wear a face covering. Watch distancing. Wash hands.

Wear a face covering. Starting Monday, February 28, 2022, mask-wearing will be optional in our school buildings for all students PreK-12 and all staff members (updated 2/22/22). We will emphasize with students that mask-wearing is a personal choice and that everyone’s individual decision should be respected. Please note that starting February 28th our building employees will not be checking, reminding, or managing students of any age in regards to mask-wearing in our schools. We ask parents to please discuss their expectations for school mask-wearing with their children. We continue to have masks available for those who need them.

Watch distancing. (updated 4/4/22) Students will return to eating lunch together in the cafeteria. Our gymnasiums will be available for normal school and after-school uses. The high school will continue to also use the Library Media Center for student lunches.

Wash hands. We will continue emphasizing frequent student and staff handwashing and sanitizing/disinfecting of hands. We will remind students of proper handwashing techniques. We will position hand sanitizer/disinfectant dispensers throughout the schools.

Signage to remind staff and students of proper practices will be placed throughout the school. Our teachers will work with our youngest students to help them adjust to these routines.

Testing Kits Available

COVID-19 self-test kits are available during the school week for students, staff, and families who 1) are experiencing symptoms, or 2) have been in close contact with someone who tested positive. Students and parents can request a kit from the school nurse’s office. Parents are asked to please report positive results immediately to the school nurse.

Transportation/Drop-Off and Pick-Up

Buses are available for all who need it and buses will stop at each stop daily. Parents should be familiar with the traffic patterns and scheduling for parent drop offs and pick ups at each school. Students are free to take a different bus than their assigned bus but must follow school procedures to do so. More information is provided by each school.

Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Ventilation

Cleaning and Sanitizing. There will be regular cleaning and sanitizing/disinfecting of common high touch surfaces throughout school such as classrooms, bathrooms, etc. All products used for cleaning and sanitizing/disinfecting are safer for students and staff and have been approved by our Director of Environmental Health and Safety.

Ventilation. We will continue to increase the circulation of fresh, outside air and air filtration as appropriate for each type/size of school space. We will use the highest filtration levels allowable within our air handlers. This includes the use of increased outside air and filtration for air conditioning in the fall and heating when the weather turns colder.

Illness Protocols, Testing, and Quarantines

Updated 1/1/22: Individuals who are even mildly symptomatic with any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 should immediately isolate at home, test for the virus with a PCR, antigen, or self-test, and remain away from activities outside of the home until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved. This includes cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, fever, chills, fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle or body aches, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Parents should use the Daily Student Assessment Tool every morning to ensure their children are healthy and ready for learning in school.

Students who become ill while at school will be provided a mask to wear, will be isolated from others, and will need to be picked up. We will continue to work closely with state and local health officials for the safe operation of our schools.

The CT Department of Public Health recommends that schools discontinue individual contact tracing for in-school and school activity contacts. School resources will instead be used to identify, isolate, and manage students and staff with active symptoms.

We will continue to contact trace for contacts that happened during non-school activities (sleepovers, parties, athletic activities, etc.)

Our head nurse and administrators will individually review specific procedures for anyone who needs to test, isolate, or quarantine. See the testing and quarantine “quick guides” below. In addition, please see the documents below for more details.

Keep Children Home with ANY signs of Illness

Fever above 100.4 when taken by mouth
Chills, muscle pain, body aches
Shortness of breath
Cough (or new uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing for students with chronic allergies/asthma)
Diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
New onset of severe headache, especially with fever
Loss of taste or smell

Non-School Activities

Please be sure your children follow proper health and safety practices during all activities outside of school including social gatherings and youth sports. The layered practices of vaccination, mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, and contact tracing can all help reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. We must all work together to keep our children and our community safe and thereby keep our schools open.

Flu Vaccine

The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older (with very few medical exceptions) get the annual flu vaccine by the end of October. Flu vaccines do not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19.

Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time. More information is available on the CDC Influenza (Flu) Website.

Testing Quick Guide

If any student or one of their family members receives a positive COVID-19 test, please immediately notify the school nurse (during the school day) or principal (after school hours). For staff, please notify the school principal/your supervisor.
Any unvaccinated student or staff member awaiting COVID-19 results may NOT be in school until they have been cleared for return.
Any unvaccinated student who has a family member awaiting COVID-19 test results should also stay home until the family member has received a negative test result or the student has completed quarantine following a family member's positive test result.
The CDC recommends vaccinated people test 3 to 5 days after the date of contact with an infected individual.

Quarantine Quick Guide for Parents

Quarantines are put in place to help protect our staff and students so our schools can remain open.
Vaccinated people who are asymptomatic will not need to quarantine.
Updated 1/1/22: Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals who are notified that they have had close contact with an individual who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should immediately quarantine at home and test for the virus 5 days after their last exposure to the COVID-19 case. This is especially important in situations where extended high-intensity exposure may have occurred, such as with household contacts, in unmasked social settings (e.g., sleepovers, parties), and/or during athletic activities.
If you've been notified by a non-school organization (e.g. sports) that your child is a close contact of a person testing positive and your child is NOT fully vaccinated, please keep them home from school and notify the school nurse (during the school day) or school principal (after school hours).
Our district will notify parents and provide them with details if their child needs to quarantine.
Students quarantining may not attend school in our buildings or in-person school activities. In compliance with State Department of Health guidelines, people in quarantine should remain home in the household and NOT participate in any activities outside the home (including sports, parties, etc.) during the quarantine period.
Quarantining students should be monitored for symptoms, including regular temperature checks.
Only the child in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 is to quarantine. Their siblings or family members do not need to quarantine. However, if a quarantining child develops symptoms or tests positive, then his/her unvaccinated siblings would also need to quarantine and the school should be notified.

Plan B (Hybrid)

Plan B is a mix of in-school classroom learning and at-home eLearning.

The Hybrid Plan B would only be implemented if the rate of virus spread in our schools, community, or state are concerning. Note: We would need Connecticut State Department of Education approval to go to plans B or C that involve eLearning.

This Hybrid Plan B is a step between Plan A (in-building learning on all days for everyone) and Plan C (eLearning from home on all days for everyone). Our most recent hybrid plan involved students in grades 6-12 attending school in-building for 2 days per week and attending school via eLearning 3 days per week. Students in grades K-5 had the option of attending school in-building all 5 days of the week or eLearning all 5 days. It is possible that Glastonbury Public Schools would follow the same hybrid plan, if needed, during the 2021-2022 school year. This would involve setting up separate eLearning only classes at the elementary level. However, It is also possible that a different hybrid schedule would be implemented. This decision would be made, as always, in the best interest of the health, safety, and learning of our students.

Plan C

Plan C is for eLearning from home for all students.

In Plan C, school buildings would be closed and all students would engage in eLearning from home. Note: We would need Connecticut State Department of Education approval to go to plans B or C that involve eLearning.

School Meals

Free School Meals for all Glastonbury Children

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended approval for school districts to continue providing free meals to students during the 2021-2022 school year. Just like last year, all student meals will be available at no charge. There is no action required (no registration) to receive the free meals.

More information is available on our Foods Services website.

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