Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Service Plan

ARP ESSER

Milligan Academy and Futures Unlimited

 

Introduction 

Our Illinois school communities — with students at the center — continue to be bold and innovative as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Department of Education (USDE) has recognized the importance of supporting these efforts, particularly with the infusion of resources to support education in Connecticut. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER) has granted the State of Illinois the opportunity to develop bold, high-impact plans to address the substantial disruptions to student learning, interpersonal interactions, and social-emotional well-being. While earlier sources of federal relief funding during the pandemic supported our ability to first survive, and then thrive, ARP ESSER provides an opportunity to transform our schools. 

 The federal government requires that each Local Education Agency (LEA) create a Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (the Plan). This plan must be publicly available online as a part of Federal and State compliance.

 There are five areas that schools must consider when developing the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan:

I.Health and Safety Strategies

II.Continuity of Services

III.Stakeholder Feedback

IV.Periodic Review Process

V.Understandable and Uniform Format

 I.Health and Safety Strategies: Describes how the plans include health and safety mitigation strategies for safe school operations.

 As we prepare for the start of the 2022-2023 school year, we will prioritize keeping students in school, and operating our schools as close to pre-pandemic practices as possible.  Milligan and Futures will continue to employ thoughtful mitigation strategies to help prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

 A Summary of Routine Strategies 

Routine Strategies

DPS Response

Vaccinations

  • Recommend COVID-19 vaccination for all eligible students and staff, including booster vaccine doses when appropriate.

 Symptom Awareness and At-Home Testing  

COVID-19 transmission prevention strategies, include:

  • Recommend testing (self-testing and/or at a testing or provider sites) of symptomatic students and staff, recent exposure to a positive case, and/or recent travel. Test kits are available to every student and staff member upon request.

  • Recommend individuals with mild COVID-19-like symptoms and fever <100 take an at home COVID-19 test. If test results are negative, students and staff may attend school.  Continue to test daily until symptoms resolve. DPS suggests wearing a mask (indoor and around other people) when experiencing respiratory symptoms. 

  • Stay home with a fever >100 and COVID-19 like symptoms until a negative test and symptoms significantly resolved (fever free >24hours without use of fever reducing medication).

  • Wear a mask as an optional safety precaution.

 Isolation and monitoring of positive cases

  • Follow CDC isolation recommendations for students and staff who have symptoms associated with, or have tested positive for, COVID-19.

  • Instruct any student or staff member who tests positive for COVID-19 to isolate for 5 days, returning to school with a mask from day 6-10 per CDC recommendations CDC calculator. Alternatively, on or after day 6 if an individual tests negative with two consecutive tests administered at least 24 hours apart, they may return to school without a mask.

  • Advise parents to report all cases of COVID-19 to the school. 

  • Report identified cases to the local health department and the Connecticut Department of Public Health. 

  • Be prepared to apply enhanced measures for the prevention of respiratory viral disease. 

 Guidance for high - risk close contact exposures outside of school day

  • Students and staff who have had a recent higher risk exposure (i.e. household) to an individual who tests positive for COVID-19, may continue to attend school. DPS recommends that these individuals wear a mask indoors when around other people Day 1-5 from last exposure, and closely monitor for symptoms. If symptoms arise, test, otherwise test on Day 5.  If negative and no symptoms, they are no longer expected to mask on Day 6.  

 Hand washing and respiratory etiquette

Hand Washing: 

  • Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after bathroom use, before eating, after outdoor activities, and any time hands are soiled. 

  • Sanitize hands with alcohol-based sanitizer when unable to wash hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizer will be strategically placed and marked throughout all district buildings. 

  • Portable handwashing stations will be maintained in designated areas districtwide.

Respiratory Etiquette:

  • Cover coughs and sneezes with tissue (or elbow, if no tissue).

  • Dispose of tissue immediately in trash receptacle.

  • Wash hands with soap and water immediately after using tissue (hand sanitizer may be used as alternative if no soap/water available)
    Reinforce importance of avoiding touching face, mouth, nose with hands.

 Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation

Clean facilities are a priority of the Schools.

  • Custodial staff operates with two primary shifts 6am to 2:30pm, and 2pm to 10:30pm. 

  • Typical cleaning includes trash removal, vacuuming, mopping floors, bathroom cleaning and sanitizing, cleaning of windows, stairwells, and hallways (sweeping, mopping), cleaning and sanitizing of the cafeteria during lunch waves, and cleaning accessible classrooms. 

  • District uses disinfectant, a no rinse sanitizing disinfectant used in schools, hospitals, medical and dental offices. This solution will be used with increased frequency to provide cleaner and safer facilities.  

Ventilation

  • All HVAC systems will be serviced and new filters installed. These filters will have the highest MERV rating that the manufacturer recommends. MERV, or the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, measures and evaluates system efficiency.  

  • All classroom unit ventilators will be serviced with new filters installed with plans and capacity to run continuously. 

  • Restroom exhaust fans will run continuously, when school is in or out of session.

Appropriate accommodations for children with learning differences in respect to the health and safety policies.

  • Review and evaluate the needs of children with learning differences on an individual basis. 

  • Reasonable accommodations to be made in consultation with an individual’s health care provider and the schools’ medical advisory team in order to adhere as close as possible to the recommended local and State health and safety protocols.

 Continuity of Services:

Describe how the School plan ensures continuity of services including but not limited to services to address the students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff social, emotional, mental health and other needs, which may include student health and food services. 

 Academic Needs:

 Several shared instructional philosophies guide the Safe Return Plan: (1) maintaining the school’s current robust and rigorous curriculum; (2) providing students with differentiated learning experiences to meet learning needs; (3) addressing students’ social and emotional learning needs; (4) meeting and exceeding State grade-level standards; and (5) developing measurable assessment strategies that set appropriate instructional goals. 

 Special Education:

The School’s Special Education and Student Services Department is committed to the provision of meaningful educational programming for students with learning differences in grades 6 through grade 12 and transitional services. The Administration continues to work closely with various stakeholders from the community and school districts to ensure that students with learning differences are planned for thoughtfully as we transition into the 2022-2023 school year. Meetings will be conducted in-person or remotely based on the families’ preferences. 

 Section 504:                                                                                                                                                          Reasonable accommodations for students are provided under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  Students with 504 plans will continue to have their accommodations implemented in a classroom environment.   Annual review and initial referral meetings will continue to be held.

 Schedules

School schedules adhere to the instructional hours required by the ISBE. 

 Social and Emotional Needs 
Milligan and Futures embed social and emotional learning across content areas and grade levels using CASEL’s Five Core Competencies as a framework.  In addition to an integrated approach of addressing SEL, specific times are designated for focused conversations with trusted adults.  During designated times, students and teachers develop learning environments that foster positive relationships and open communication. Furthermore, specific lessons designed to teach healthy hygiene practices and how to manage physical social distancing protocols will be embedded during these designated times.  

 Supporting Staff

The health and safety of our staff is of primary importance.  As such, the schools will continue to provide staff with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when requested. Hand washing stations, disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizers will be available throughout the buildings.

 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the ROE #39 health insurance provider, provides significant resources and support for employees, including care tools and resources ranging from testing centers and physicians in the network to mental health and emergency service support.   Employees who create an account with BCBS gain access to additional resources such as access to a mobile app that features a tool to help users understand potential risk for COVID-19 and provides access to telehealth visits.

 Professional Learning and Meetings:

Professional meetings and professional development will resume in person in accordance with health and safety protocols. 

 Remote learning

Remote learning is not available during the 2022-2023 school year. Students with extended absences may have work sent home similar to pre-pandemic teaching and learning practices. 

 Transportation

The safe arrival and departure of students is critical to daily school operations. Buses will operate normally beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. 

 School Visitors

School visitors are not permitted as Milligan Academy and Futures Unlimited are alternative placement settings.

 Stakeholder Feedback: Describes opportunities for stakeholder feedback to inform plan development and monitoring.  

 Stakeholders have been engaged in a variety of forums as the school plans throughout the pandemic. Stakeholder engagement includes:

  • Public Hearing

  • Feedback Form Posted to Website

  • Administrative Instructional Meeting Item and Open Feedback

  • Curriculum Meeting Item and Open Feedback

  • Building-Based Meeting Item and Open Feedback

  • Teacher Survey Feedback

  • Regular meetings with Local Health Officials 

 Periodic Review of Process:

The plan will be periodically reviewed to comply with State guidance. 

  1. Understandable and Uniform Format: Describes Federal regulations requiring that this plan be in an understandable and uniform format, to the extent practicable; is written in a language that parents can understand or, if not applicable, orally translated; and upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provided an alternative format accessible to that parent.  

 This document will be made available on the ROE #39 website in a readable Google or PDF format.