‘A new normal’: BCSC teachers setting up for reopening

An exterior view of Schmitt Elementary School in Columbus, Ind., Monday, July 27, 2020. School administrators and teachers are putting social distancing and screening protocols into place to limit the spread of COVID-19 when school starts in August. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

The countdown to the first day of school continues, with a week left before Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. schools reopen for in-person classes on Aug. 10.

And while the first official, contracted day for teachers isn’t until Wednesday, some BCSC staff are coming in on their own time to organize their classrooms and prepare for the upcoming school year.

Kaity Day, Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School principal, said that since the school board approved the reopening plan, her building has been abuzz with activity. She said at times, it has been a collaborative process, with teachers reaching out to each other, as well as Day and the main office, to see if their rooms are on track or need tweaks.

“We all want to do this right, and we want to do the best for kids that we can,” Day said. “My teachers are amazing all year round, but especially in this uncertain time, just because they are willing to go above and beyond and make things great for the kids that can come back.”

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For Alison Simpson, who teaches third grade at Schmitt, setting up her classroom is a process that keeps raising new questions. While she started physically setting up her room in mid-July, she’s been pondering the process for some time.

“For a couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to think about my classroom and … just the little things that we do, day in and day out, that might need, like, a procedure,” she said.

For instance, Simpson has a sort of classroom library where students can check out books and return them. And while Simpson is considering isolating books for a few days upon their return, she’s still trying to figure out the best way to let kids check out books, especially if there’s a popular series that several students want to read.

Simpson also said that she’s had to rethink work that revolves around small groups or rotating stations.

“I’m going to have to think through that. How many supplies do I have? How many students would that be? How do I sanitize those (supplies)?” she said.

One solution Simpson has thought of is using a pencil dispenser to provide clean, ready-to-go pencils for any students who need them.

As far as physical distancing goes, Simpson said that she’s still figuring out the right configuration for her classroom so that students can see the board and hear her while still being appropriately spaced far enough apart.

Even with limited space and assigned seating, she still wants to provide seating options for students with certain preferences. For instance, some kids may work better if they’re not seated next to a window, or others may prefer to stand while they work.

“So if they would prefer to do that or that’s how they learn best, then I want to still be able to offer those options,” Simpson said. “It just will become an assigned option, for right now.”

She said that while the details of setting up her room can be “overwhelming,” she’s looking forward to seeing students in-person again.

“I’m feeling excited,” she said. “I just miss the kids. I miss last year’s kids so much too. I told some of their parents, like, ‘I feel cheated. I didn’t get a full academic year with them in person.’ And so I do get excited thinking about, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to be able to see them again.’ “

At Columbus North High School, Principal David Clark said that some of his teachers have been coming in since mid-July to set up and that they’re making sure to check temperatures and answer screening questions.

Clark said that the school is trying to make the most of classroom spaces for physical distancing.

“Things are going more to the walls, rather than in the middle of the room,” he said. “We’re shifting desks to the outer edges of the room. We’re shifting desks and then kind of scattering them in the middle. We’re trying to space them out.”

He added that one challenge for schools is that while distancing guidelines should be followed at all times, sometimes this may not occur if an authority figure is absent.

“What we’ve seen so far in the athletic arena, we’ve opened up those a week or so ago, the kids do really, really well when they’re under the direct supervision or guidance of a coach or a teacher, but it’s in those moments where they have some free time where they have to begin to monitor themselves that they struggle a little bit,” Clark said.

He added that it would be helpful for parents to get their kids into the habit of wearing masks and social distancing so that they practice those behaviors upon returning to school.

Laurie Martin, social studies department chair over Columbus North and Northside Middle School, said that she hopes to find a way for her students to work in groups while still using masks and distancing.

“I think the real challenge is going to be trying to figure out, you know, how collaboration works in a socially-distanced classroom,” she said. She added that she thinks that an upcoming Universal Design for Learning (UDL) session will help her develop new ideas for the school year.

“Our educational framework is Universal Design for Learning,” Martin said. “And so that’s all about giving kids, just, options in terms of representation and engagement and how they express what they know. … I haven’t wrapped my head around, yet, how I’m going to continue to give them options and provide them with options for learning with all of the social distancing required. But I know it’s something that I will figure out.”

Martin also said that she plans to use digital version of assignments and materials as much as possible in order to cut down on any germ spread that could come from passing papers back and forth. She also plans to wipe down her desks and chairs between classes and regularly clean areas touched by students, such as the pencil sharpener.

Martin said that in spite of all the changes coming to schools, she feels sure that teachers will adapt, just as they adapted to eLearning in the spring.

“It’s going to look different, but, you know, different will become the new normal,” she said.

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BCSC’s reopening plan states that classrooms will be set up to promote physical distancing and that on school buses, physical distancing "will be maintained when possible."

The plan adds that "Classrooms or other school locations may be used as temporary lunchrooms to facilitate physical distancing and maintain a maximum of 50% capacity in the cafeteria." The plan adds that schools may use staggered schedules for large group gatherings such as meals. Large spaces such as cafeterias will be reduced to 50% capacity or less.

The school corporation is following the governor’s orders on the maximum number of people allowed to congregate. The current guidelines under the state’s Stage 4.5 is a maximum of 250 people (with the exception of special or seasonal events that have an event plan approved by local health officials).

The plan adds that, "Students will be discouraged from gathering in areas such as hallways or parking lots; staff will be discouraged from gathering in workrooms and other common spaces."

"We will practice physical distancing to the extent possible," Superintendent Jim Roberts said at a recent school board meeting. "We do have a lot of people in our buildings, potentially … and we will need to figure out how to space them out."

He also cited American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which holds that a 3- to 6-feet range of distance can be used in some situations.

According to the AAP’s considerations and guidance for school re-entry, "Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space, particularly if students are wearing face coverings and are asymptomatic. Schools should weigh the benefits of strict adherence to a 6-feet spacing rule between students with the potential downside if remote learning is the only alternative."

The AAP adds that "Strict adherence to a specific size of student groups (eg, 10 per classroom, 15 per classroom, etc) should be discouraged in favor of other risk mitigation strategies. Given what is known about transmission dynamics, adults and adult staff within schools should attempt to maintain a distance of 6 feet from other persons as much as possible, particularly around other adult staff."

More information about school corp. guidelines is available in BCSC’s reopening plan, which can be found at bcscschools.org.

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