Dear parents,

 

Like all elementary schools in Santa Barbara County, The Family School has been presented an opportunity to apply for a waiver to open our upper campus to in-person learning.  As with any opportunity comes responsibility.  We as a school have a responsibility to follow guidelines and best practices to provide a low risk environment where our students and parents feel comfortable. Below, you will see our plan of how we will fulfill that responsibility.  **Please note that due to the timing of submission and the required 14 day waiting period after submission, we need to modify our first week plan:

​

• Zoom Orientations on September 8th and 9th

• Cohort A on campus on Thursday, September 10th

• Cohort B on campus on Friday, September 11th

• Full school on campus beginning Monday, September 14th

 

In order to qualify for a waiver, we need to complete the following steps:

​

1. Publish our plan on our website

2. Consult with the following constituents on our plan and desire to open

   1. Staff- in a survey to staff 

      1. 99% of our staff is ready and willing to return to in-person learning on campus

   2. Parents- please fill out the survey, here, and state your plan for the year after reading our plan

   3. Community organizations

3. Educate staff and parents on our policies and procedures in this new context

 

As a parent, we ask you to take some responsibility as well.   

​

• We ask you to fill out this survey (same as above survey) and state your intentions for the school year.

• We ask that you attend a parent meeting to learn more about our plan.  These will be held early next week. 

• We ask you to communicate with us when you or your child is sick or unwell

  • Please look carefully at the section about illness below

• We ask that you keep in mind how your personal and family choices impact the whole school community

  • Social distancing, avoiding large gatherings and wearing face coverings can keep numbers low and allow ALL students to return to school

• We ask that you reach out to us with questions and concerns so that we can address them in a timely manner

 

Thank you for your patience and support as we navigate through this constantly changing landscape.  Working together, we can remain flexible and adjust as needed while providing a place where our students feel heard, are supported and can continue to learn and grow.

 

Upper Campus cohorts:

​

• Each Door will be broken up into two classes

• Each cohort will have no more than 12 students to one teacher

• Students will stay in their respective groups and classroom

• Teachers and assistant teachers will swap rooms on a daily basis

• Blue Door will teach same lesson to each group over two day period

• Red and Purple teachers will broadcast lesson to other group AND swap groups every other day 

• Small groups will allow for spacing between desks and students while inside the classroom

• Each cohort will also have a designated outdoor classroom space to use elements permitting

 

Specialties:

​

• Specialty Teachers will teach their lessons inside each cohort’s classroom or outside

  • Theater and music will take over chess garden and stage as their location

• Individual supplies per student will remain with student in their classroom

• Specialty classes will be 30 minutes or less per cohort

• Each child will have access to specialties

• ​

 

Entry into school

​

• Students may begin arrival to school at 8:00 am until 8:30 am

• Three entrances:

  • Green Door through back ‘Green Door’ gate

  • Blue Door and Red Door B through back gate by tire swing (total of 30 students)

  • Red Door A and Purple Door through front gate(total of 30 students)

  • Families with multiple kids will be assigned a gate that works best for their family

• Staff will take own temperature and health check each day

• Daily health check with each student including temperature check will be conducted at each entrance prior to student entering campus

 

Pick up

 

• Pick up will be begin at 3:00 until 3:30 pm

• Parents will wait at their assigned gates and students will be called to gate to leave

 

Movement on campus:

​

• There is plenty of outdoor space for students and staff to respect the 6 ft distance when moving around campus

  • We have no enclosed hallways or passageways

• The yard will be split into 6 sections, one for each cohort that they will use for an entire day

 

Playground:

​

• Lunch at desks inside to start year

• Parents provide daily snack, lunch and personal water bottle

• Split the yard into sections.  Classes will have a specific section for the day and rotate every day

• Each cohort will have their own equipment that will be cleaned/disinfected at the end of each play period

 

Face coverings

​

• All staff will be wearing face coverings throughout the day, except for certain teaching instances at which time a face shield will be used.  Staff will put face coverings back on after the lesson.

• Per county/state guidelines, all students will be required to wear face coverings while on campus including inside the classrooms.  Face coverings are not required during meal times and outdoor recreation.

  • If a child refuses to use a face covering, then they will get to participate in remote learning.

• All parents and visitors will need to wear face coverings in the parking lot and on campus.

 

Cleaning:

​

• Professional cleaning will occur every afternoon or early morning prior to school

• The school purchased disinfectant misters to disinfect rooms and play equipment during the day or at the end of each day

• Teachers and students will be responsible for wiping their desks, chairs, tables, sinks, door handles, and light switches at snack and lunch transitions where developmentally appropriate

 

Hygiene: 

​

• There are 3 outdoor sinks 

• Each cohort will have their own bathroom, 

  • only one person at a time in the bathroom

• Proper handwashing signs are placed at each sink

• Students will wash hands upon arrival, before snack and lunch, at transitions from outside to inside, etc. 

• Hand sanitizer will be available inside and outside the classrooms

• An isolation space will be designated for staff or a student that needs to be isolated due to possible illness while at school

 

General illness and COVID-19 Symptoms

​

        We know that there is a chance there will be a case of COVID-19 in our school community this year.  The chart below shows the steps we will take in regards to COVID-19 symptoms on campus. This chart is based on required steps from the California Department of Public Health.  We are committing to communicating with our families beyond what is recommended by Public Health.  

 

        Privacy is also a priority.  When we communicate about COVID-19 related illnesses, we will be speaking in a general nature to the larger community via email and directly via phone to those families directly affected.  A sample general message may read like:  “A member of Green Door has had a known contact with a COVID-19 positive individual” or “ A member of the upper campus has tested positive for COVID-19”, followed by the steps we are taking.** Please communicate directly with Julianne or Kay in regards to tests and test results so that confidentiality can be honored and maintained to the best of our ability.