TOP STORY OF THE DAY - Roadmap to back-to-school approved

Thursday, July 2, 2020
Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

A ‘roadmap’ of what going back to school will look like in August was unanimously approved during the Tuesday special session meeting of the Clay Community School Corporation Board of Trustee meeting.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Superintendent Jeff Fritz told the trustees and members of the audience in the board room of the Central Administrative Office there were a lot of unknowns due to COVID-19 in the upcoming school year. Still, the main goal is to provide the safest learning experience for students and staff members.

“This is uncharted territory for many schools around the state. It is a fluid situation, and we are learning more about COVID-19 all the time,” said Fritz about the 15-page document that details re-entry plans. “With the fluidity of the present pandemic, the Roadmap will be a working document that will undoubtedly need to be revised as situations change. The Clay County Health Department’s approval of the plan was secured, and the department’s guidance and direction throughout the school year will be vital.”

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Fritz explained the Indiana Department of Education’s 38-page Learning and Safe Schools (IN-CLASS), was very helpful during the local process of developing a plan of action.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

The Clay County Health Department helped establish categories based on the spread of COVID-19 in the community and the subsequent risk factors. The risk levels categories include Low/No Spread (Green); Minimal/Moderate Spread (Yellow); and Substantial Spread (Red).

Some strategies that could be potentially implemented, depending on the risk level status, include:

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Low/No Spread (Green) - in-classroom instruction with some precautions, like allowing students and staff to wear face coverings, and conduct cleaning of hallways and high-touch surfaces throughout the school day,

Minimal/Moderate Spread (Yellow) - still in-school instruction but taking more serious precautions, like staggering class periods, providing additional time for transitions between classes, and designating areas of the hallway (i.e., lanes) as flow paths to keep students separated to minimize congregation of students

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Substantial Spread (Red) – School buildings will be closed, and eLearning will be implemented.

“Face coverings are not required (to return to school), we are not requiring that, but we recommend it,” said Fritz. “That could change if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or our local health department says we have to do that, then we will follow those guidelines.”

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Students can expect no field trips during the upcoming school year, and assigned seating to help with social distancing and potentially stop the spread of the virus. Visitors to the various schools in the corporation will have limited access.

In July, Fritz said parents of all students and employees in the corporation would receive a flyer of a simplified explanation of the Roadmap. However, the entire Roadmap is posted online at https://in02200674.schoolwires.net.

Fritz said the CCS Roadmap is a working document that will undoubtedly need to be revised as COVID-19 situations change.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

With 37 years of educational experience, Fritz wholeheartedly believes, “traditional in-school instruction – the direct, eyeball to eyeball instruction -is the most impactful and powerful” way for students to learn.

“In-person instruction, which is the best, will be held in most situations if the risk levels are green or yellow,” said Fritz. “This is a living and breathing document. We will make changes and modifications when needed, and we expect them to happen. It’s a work in progress.”

The board was told the scope of the Roadmap project was one of the largest and hardest ever tackled by the corporation. Topics considered by the nine teams of multiple members helping develop the Roadmap included Risk Level, Preventive Measure, Teaching & Learning, Transitioning, Transportation, Meals, Entering School Buildings, Large Gatherings, Vulnerable Population, When Someone Becomes Sick, School Operations, Communication, and School Finances.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

“The economic situation in our country and our nation is a reality,” said Fritz., explaining student enrollment is always important each school year for the budget, but it is vital now. “Student enrollment is important to us. t’s important for our community, for our businesses, for home buyers and sellers, and it is certainly important to Clay Community Schools.”

Although the CCS budget has been in good standing the past few years, which allowed for several significant improvements and renovations, Fritz said a few upcoming projects might be put on hold.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

“We are very blessed that we are in a good financial situation,” Fritz said about the prior trustees and the administration working to maintain a healthy budget for years before COVID-19. “We appreciate and honor the great financial shape that we are in, and we don’t want to damage that.”

Extra-Curricular Activities and Athletics & Band

Fritz said the corporation had made some slight modifications to the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s guidelines, with more information to be forthcoming and attached to the Roadmap plan online.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

“We modified it some, but we got approval from our legal counsel before doing so,” Fritz said. “We will be working very closely with the health departments because of the situation.”

Communication is critical, and it has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed schools in March. Fritz said monthly updates had been issued to the public, some about COVID-19, some not.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

“I’ve tried to do that since the beginning and into the summer. What I want the public to hear from us is that we got this under control. We don’t have all the answers, but we know that we have enough smart people in the room, enough professionals in our community that we can work this out,” said Fritz. “Our communication to the public is not what you can be scared of, but we got this under control the best that we can. We are going to do everything we can to ensure your children and our employees are safe.”

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

Board President Tom Reberger said the board had been kept apprised of the Roadmap progress until the Tuesday meeting.

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation

“It’s going to change, but it’s called a Roadmap for a reason,” said Reberger. Who was appreciative of the amount of work and effort that went into the action plan. “We have a direction, and it may vary some, but we a Roadmap.”

Courtesy of Clay Community School Corporation
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