VEEDERSBURG — A plan created by the Southeast Fountain school board for a return to in-person instruction for 2020-21 was approved during the district’s monthly public session Thursday.
The plan, which had also been approved by Fountain-Warren County Health Department Officer Dr. Sean Sharma prior to the meeting, covers many issues relating to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and what shape it will take in the classroom.
Superintendent Dan Foster, who has collaborated with board members, committees and task forces — all created to plan a return to school — outlined the 14-page document, which is now available on the district website.
“We have been in contact with a lot of different people,” Foster said. “The fluidity of this pandemic means changes could be made to the plan rapidly. It could be within the next couple days. There has been discussion at the health department of making a mask requirement in the bi-county area. Some of our plans may have to be adjusted to that.”
Under the current plan, face coverings would not be required. Instead, they will be heavily encouraged, and staff members will wear them and make cloth masks available at all times.
However, this could change if the health department decides to do so, Foster said.
The plan incorporates an in-person instructional model which is preferred by board members over other options, such as alternating schedules and online learning, citing too few bus drivers and poor internet connectivity in the county.
Returning to school is the best option, Foster said, and will look different to students this year.
“Most staff, most students and most parents actually want kids in school,” he said. “We want to do it as safely as we can.
“You cannot eliminate the risk ... we want people to understand that we’re going to do the best we can, but there is still the possibility that something could happen.”
A recent survey conducted by the school’s Task Force showed an even split between those who feel like masks should be required and those who feel they are unnecessary.
However, masks are encouraged as a strong preventative measure in preventing the spread of the virus.
Other measures outlined by the Indiana Department of Education include “providing handsoap and hand sanitizers with at least 60-percent alcohol,” Foster said, but administrators have decided to take it one step further.
“We have ordered everything at at least 70-percent alcohol,” he said. “We anticipate some of that will sit on a shelf, we hope, and it will lose some of its potency.”
Students and staff will be trained to recognize COVID-19 symptoms, as part of the plan.
The list of symptoms, which is updated frequently by the Indiana Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, loss of smell, shortness of breath, coughing, sore throat, coughing up sputum and muscle pain.
In the event a student is discovered to have COVID-19, they will be excluded from school for a minimum of 10 days or until certain criteria are met. Three criteria a student must meet to return to school are: No fever for at least 72 hours without the use of medicine; other symptoms have improved; and a minimum of 10 calendar days have passed since symptoms first occurred.
Foster stressed though that a fourth criterion of two negative tests at least 24 hours apart would be acceptable as well.
Furthermore, siblings of students who test positive for COVID-19 will be excluded from school for a minimum period of 14 days, which allow four additional days for the onset of symptoms to occur.
Students will also see the following changes to the daily school routine: Buses will have assigned seating and siblings will sit together; sanitizers and masks will be present and available in all classrooms; the cafeteria will no longer be self-serve and breakfast will include prepackaged meals; water bottles brought from home may be refilled at various filling stations in each building; and nurses’ rooms will have a separate area to treat a positive student or staff member.
“We have considered many different ways to handle things, and the bottom line is there is no right way for everybody,” Foster said. “Even as adults we can’t necessarily agree on what this looks like, so it’s a challenge to bring a thousand kids plus 100-and-some staff members back and say, ‘How do we pull this together to try to do the best we can?’
“’Reopen schools while mitigating risk; it is impossible to eliminate,’” Foster read from the plan. “That’s what we have tried to do. And keep paying attention, because this could change very quickly.”
The next regularly scheduled public meeting for the Southeast Fountain school board will be 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at administration office.
