Smithtown School District Proposes Coronavirus Reopening Plan

SMITHTOWN, NY — The Smithtown Central School District announced its proposed coronavirus reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year. The plan covers information on the potential learning models, as well as safety measures being taken by the district.

Smithtown schools will implement a hybrid model, which consists of in-person and remote learning, as long as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state permit them to reopen. If in-person is not allowed, the district will use a fully-remote model.

Under the hybrid option, all students would be grouped with the following method:

• Group 1: All students with last names that begin with A through K
• Group 2: All students with last names that begin with L through Z

Group 1 will attend school in-person every Monday and Tuesday, as well as on alternating
Wednesdays. Group 2 will attend school in-person every Thursday and Friday, as well as on alternating Wednesdays. Both groups will receive remote instruction on days they don't physically attend class.

Parents/guardians can choose not to send their child/children to school, even if buildings use the hybrid model. In that case, students will receive remote instruction every day.

"To be clear, the health and safety of our students, our staff, and their families is our top priority," the Smithtown School District wrote in its reopening plan. "We have developed a plan that intends to ensure that students and employees feel comfortable and safe returning to school campuses."

It is possible the district may need to alternate between in-person and remote learning throughout the year due to recommendations and guidance from its partnering agencies and stay-at-home orders from Cuomo, officials said. The level of infection, the spread of the coronavirus, and response to the disease in the community will be at the forefront of the district's decision-making as it prepares to open its schools, officials said.

More than 150 district stakeholders, including students, teachers, parents, administrators, nurses, local health care providers, staff members, and union representatives, provided input for the reopening plan.

The development of this plan was guided by and grounded in the following guiding
principles:

• Safeguarding the health and safety of students and staff
• Providing the opportunity for all students to access education in the fall
• Monitoring schools, students, and staff. When necessary, modifying schedules to appropriately contain COVID-19 spread
• Emphasizing equity, access, and support to the students and communities that are emerging from this historic disruption
• Fostering strong two-way communication with partners, such as families, educators, and staff
• Factoring into decision making the challenges to the physical safety, social emotional well-being, and the mental health needs of our students caused by school closure
• Considering and supporting diversity in our schools and school district as we provide education is essential

Staff who worked the summer received training, and all staff will be trained again in September.

Students will be trained on hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, social distancing, face covering
requirements, and all related COVID-19 school safety protocols before they return to school.

All members of the school community, including students, staff and visitors, will be required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. Acceptable face coverings include surgical masks, cloth masks, balaclava or bandannas and must completely cover the mouth and nose. Plastic face shields alone are not acceptable. Exceptions to the face covering requirement will be possible with the right documents.

Everyone will be required to wear a face covering at all times when entering and exiting district facilities, while walking in hallways, when working within 6 feet of others and in shared spaces such as common areas, break room, restrooms, etc.

Tightly confined spaces will be occupied by only one person at a time, unless all occupants are wearing face coverings, the district said. If an area is occupied by more than one person, the district will restrict occupancy to under 50 percent of maximum capacity. Classrooms and other instructional areas will be reconfigured to allow for social distancing. The district suggests people to use their own face coverings, but masks and other personal protective equipment will be available if needed.

Mandatory health screenings, including temperature checks, of students, faculty, staff, and, where applicable, contractors, vendors, and visitors will be required before entry into any district facility. Anyone entering a building must complete a medical screening questionnaire, which is accessible through the district website. A QR code sign is posted at all main entrances, providing a direct link to the survey using a mobile device.

In an effort to minimize exposure, members of the school community are asked to conduct temperature checks at home before they leave for school.

Students will need to wear a face mask in order to ride a school bus. If they don't have one, they'll be issued one; they won't be denied transportation.

"The Smithtown Central School District is committed to reopening our schools in a manner that provides for the safety, health, and security of both students and staff," it wrote. "When the 2020-2021 school year begins, on-campus school will look much different than previous years due to COVID-19 and the health and safety measures that continue to evolve."

Click here to read the full Smithtown Central School District coronavirus reopening plan.

Earlier this month, Cuomo announced that New York schools can reopen only if coronavirus infection rates fall below strict benchmarks to be set in early August.

The "formula" Cuomo spelled out allows school openings in regions that are in phase four and have an infection rate under 5 percent. An "emergency" stop to openings will take place if infections rise above 9 percent, he said. A full decision on openings is expected to be made within the week.