Reopening Plan
SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
PEOPLE
PLACES
PROCESSES
MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Dear Harborfields Community,
In an effort to safely open our schools for full in-person learning, we are pleased to present this Reopening Operations Plan for the 2021-2022 school year. The document will provide our community with a detailed set of guidelines to assist in the welcoming of our students and staff each day. The guidelines account for the health and safety of our children, teachers and school personnel while encouraging equitable access to the services and resources necessary for a high-quality education.
On September 2, 2021, the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) released interim guidance for schools that included a requirement for all individuals to wear masks while in school and mandated weekly testing for unvaccinated staff. On February 28, 2022, the NYSDOH released New Masking Guidance Supplemental Information to the Interim Guidance which included, among other guidance, that masks were optional in schools effective March 2, 2022. This plan has been updated to reflect the requirements in the new guidance.
As with all decisions related to health and safety, the district has worked in close consultation with our district physician and school attorneys in the development of this plan.
Each of you, no matter your role in our schools or our community, has contributed greatly to the success of our programs and it is important to me that our community has a clear understanding of our collective commitment to the students of the Harborfields Central School District. I continue to be immensely proud of you and the work that you do for our students.
As One Harborfields Family, we have worked collaboratively to achieve the goals of this plan. From the outset, we strived to keep all students in school, to keep our school doors open throughout the year, and to keep our students and staff safe through carefully implemented mitigation strategies. I am pleased to report that our school community has met each of these challenges with resounding success!
Going forward, our work to support each child, each day will continue to be met with the same relentless pursuit of excellence that our community has come to expect from the Harborfields Central School District.
Organizations of excellence do not rest. We continue to move forward to ensure that the needs of ALL students are met.
Thank you for your unwavering support of our students and our schools.
Sincerely,
Rory J. Manning, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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PEOPLE
COVID-19 Safety Coordinator
- The district’s safety coordinator is responsible for ensuring compliance with the re-opening plan and monitoring communications from the Department of Health to ensure and make any modifications necessary as the situation is fluid and subject to change.
- Contact information for the safety coordinator: Denise Campbell, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Administration; [email protected]; 631-754-5320 ext. 6322.
Masks
- In accordance with the New Masking Guidance Update dated February 28, 2022 to the NYSDOH Interim Guidance for Classroom Instruction in P-12 Schools During the 2021 2022 Academic Year, the state requirement for universal masking in P-12 school settings ended on March 2, 2022.
- Students, staff and teachers are required to wear masks on days 6-10 of their return from a 5-day isolation period.
- Students, staff and teachers who develop symptoms while in school will be provided a mask to wear until they can be safely removed from the school building.
- In accordance with the guidance, the Suffolk County Department of Health (SCDOH) may implement masking requirements that are more restrictive than the state.
- NYSDOH recommends students and staff wear masks when:
- They feel more comfortable wearing a mask for personal reasons.
- They are known to have been exposed to COVID-19 in any setting within the previous 10 days. Masking, regardless of vaccination status, is strongly recommended for 10 days after a known exposure.
- They are moderately-to-severely immunocompromised and have discussed the need to mask with their healthcare provider(s).
Instruction
- Instruction will be in-person for all students unless directed by the Department of Health to reduce occupancy or for intermittent closure due to a local transmission percentage rate of COVD-19 that would deem this necessary. In such an event, remote instruction will be implemented.
Instruction During Isolation
- All students that are placed under mandatory quarantine by their physician and/or the Suffolk County Department of Health will be eligible to participate in quarantine instruction.
- Specific procedures for quarantine instruction will be developed at the building level and communicated to parents and guardians. The general overview of quarantine instruction is provided below for reference:
- Parents/Guardians are encouraged to communicate with their child’s classroom teachers regarding specific concerns or needs during the quarantine period.
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PLACES
Cleaning and Disinfecting
- The custodial staff will be deployed with schedules to allow for increased frequency of cleaning and disinfecting of high risk areas (e.g., health offices, cafeteria, bathrooms) and high touch surfaces (e.g., handrails, door handles, lunch tables).
Ventilation and Filtration
As part of our reopening plan in order to ensure that we maintain adequate and code-required
ventilation as designed, the district will take the following actions:
- Ensure all of our existing units are in good working order and comply with current code as far as sequence of operation and fresh air intake damper operation.
- Increase the outdoor air ventilation rates at any H&V units, unit ventilators, and HVAC units.
- Increase fresh air intakes during appropriate weather conditions and disable any demand controls which limit fresh air.
- Increase the frequency of filter replacement and keep the systems running longer, possibly even 24/7, in order to flush out the buildings.
- Run all exhaust fans up to 24/7 in order to keep the building under negative pressure, promoting additional ventilation air to be brought in.
- Maintain humidity levels between 40% and 60%, especially during the heating season.
- Open windows to improve ventilation, as long as the open windows do not create a health and safety risk.
Signage
The district will emphasize healthy hygiene practices for students and staff by posting signage
through the school (entrances, restrooms, cafeteria, offices, hallways, etc.). Signage will be used
to remind individuals to:
- Stay home if they feel sick.
- Understand and report symptoms of, or exposure to, COVID-19.
- Follow good hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
- Follow cleaning and disinfection guidelines.
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PROCESSES
Communication Plan
- In addition to aforementioned training, communication and signage to inform, update and educate our school community on matters of COVID-19, additional methods of communication will be accessible through the following resources:
- District website: http://harborfieldscsd.net/our_district/coronavirus_information
- Dedicated webpage on the District’s website with relevant information, including but not limited to training documents and/videos: http://harborfieldscsd.net/our_district/reopening_hf
- Letters from the Superintendent to provide the community with pertinent updates as applicable.
- Utilization of Blackboard ConnectEd Notification System which allows for mass notification of selected groups such as parents/guardians, staff and community members.
- The District will continue to utilize social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to provide important updates to the community (Twitter: @HarborfieldsCSD; Instagram: harborfields_csd; Facebook: Harborfields Central School District.
- Students will receive developmentally appropriate information related to COVID-19 protocols including proper hand and respiratory hygiene, disease prevention, and be alerted to the resources available and modes of district communication to receive ongoing and current information for overall health and safety.
Health Screening
- Parents/Guardians are encouraged to check the temperature of their children daily. Students with a temperature greater than 100.0 should not report to school and should follow up with their family physician.
- All personnel will continue to monitor their health.
- Those individuals who are laboratory confirmed positive for COVID-19 will follow the current recommendations from the Department of Health regarding length of isolation.
- The district will comply with requirements to report all positive cases of individuals in attendance in the district with the department of health within 24 hours of notification. Additionally, this will be reported on the school report card and in the community notification of 7-day positive cases which is posted on our website.
- The district will consult with the Department of Health for final determination and guidance in any situation that should require clarification of judgment for circumstances requiring testing or isolation from the learning environment.
School Health Offices
- In the event that an individual presents with COVID-19 related symptoms in-district, they will be cared for by members of the health office. Family members or emergency contacts will be notified immediately. In the case where an individual is unable to leave the district immediately they will remain under supervision of the health office in a dedicated area of isolation.
- The school nurse will communicate with employees and parents/guardians of students regarding the identified current symptoms and any post-care/steps indicated and/or required. They will also provide resources as needed and will follow-up to ensure “return to learning environment” protocols are communicated to all necessary parties.
- All PPE requirements for the health office staff will be available and utilized by the staff in these instances.
- In consultation with the school physician, asthma related treatment protocols will be reviewed and delivered to ensure environmental controls, alternative delivery methods, locations and proper PPE equipment are donned to be in compliance with CDC recommendations.
Contact Tracing, Tracking, Quarantine, Isolation and Return to the Learning Environment
- The district will closely monitor all building reports of exposure, symptomology and positive cases to ensure that any early warning signs of increasing transmission are detected and reviewed.
- Indicators of community transmission are provided by the CDC and monitored locally by the Suffolk County Department of Health. Additionally, school community data is also being tracked and monitored. In review of this data and in consultation with these officials, operations may need to be modified, protocols revised or closures may need to be considered in an effort to mitigate a rise in cases.
- If an individual was in-district within a 48 hour period of being identified as positive for COVID-19, group contact tracing protocols will be implemented. This includes an investigation to identify all individuals that were in the same room as the infected individual and was exposed or potentially exposed. These individuals or, in the case of minor students, parents/guardians will be notified in a timely manner. Requirements regarding monitoring and isolation will be implemented as required by local and state Department of Health Officials.
- Those individuals who are laboratory confirmed positive for COVID-19 will follow the current recommendations from the Department of Health regarding length of isolation. Permission to return to the learning environment will follow the release from isolation as set forth by the Department of Health.
Personal Protective Equipment
- The district will maintain an adequate supply of masks for any staff or students in need.
Hygiene
- NYSDOH hygiene guidance will serve as the district’s recommended protocol in training faculty, staff and students in matters of hand and respiratory hygiene. Resources will be provided to parents in the same regard.
- The district will ensure adequate supply of all materials necessary to maintain hygiene protocols for our population (i.e., soap, running warm water, disposable paper towels, 60% alcohol-based sanitizer).
- Proper communication and signage will be utilized to ensure all parties are aware of the location, distribution, proper usage and disposal of such items.
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We are thankful for the support of our students,
staff, and community. Together, we can
accomplish anything!
#OneHFamily
Each Child. Each Day. One Harborfields Family