Horseheads Central School District

Revised 2020-2021 School Year Plan

Revised April 16, 2021

6-10-21: The district is receiving funds from the American Rescue Plan, the federal program for pandemic assistance. As part of our planning for next school year, we need input on the needs of Horseheads students from our stakeholders – students, parents, staff, businesspeople, support organizations, community members, etc. We appreciate your assisting us in this process by sharing your input through the form at this link: https://forms.office.com/r/zsrAedjrRP . The district will consider this input as well as a variety of resources and data when making decisions for the allocation of these funds. The form closes Tuesday, June 15, at 3pm. Thank you.

Please click here for an update from Superintendent Tom Douglas.

UPDATE 6-7-21: Today, in his regular press conference, Governor Cuomo announced that schools may opt to discontinue mask use outdoors only. Horseheads will no longer require the use of masks outdoors beginning Tuesday, June 8. Anyone who wishes to continue wearing a mask outdoors is welcome to do so.

UPDATE 6-6-21: We have been informed by the NYS Education Dept that we must continue to require masks in schools, in contradiction to the information released Friday. Tomorrow, all students and staff must continue to wear masks in schools. We will inform you when a final decision is made by the NYS Dept of Health and the governor’s office. We apologize for this late action. We share your frustration.

UPDATE 6-5-21: Late Friday, the state released a letter from Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announcing the relaxation of mask requirements in schools effective Monday, June 7.

Update 5-20-21: Please click here for an update from Superintendent Tom Douglas.

Update 4-30-21: Please click here for an update from Superintendent Tom Douglas.

If your child is in in-person instruction and you cannot find the daily health survey reminder email, you can enter your child's daily health survey information here. You will need your child's log-in information. Thank you!

For the revised 2020-21 Calendar, please click here. The calendar has been revised to reflect our current four-day per week in-person schedule. Please also note that there will be no school Tuesday, June 1.

Original July Reopening Plan

From July 20-31, nearly 100 stakeholders – teachers, parents, staff, administrators, community members – met on five committees to discuss survey results, analyze health department guidance, and provide input on the state requirements and the best plan for Horseheads schools. Additionally, the plan was reviewed and discussed with the Board of Education and, separately, the Chemung County Department of Health and County Executive.

Revising the District’s Plan

On March 19, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention. According to the document, the recommendations:

Revise physical distancing recommendations to reflect at least three feet between students in classrooms and provide clearer guidance when a greater distance (such as six feet) is recommended.
Clarify that ventilation is a daily component of strategies to clean and maintain healthy facilities and outside air.
Remove recommendation for physical barriers.
Clarify the role of community transmission levels in decision-making.
Add guidance on interventions when clusters occur.

On April 9, 2021, the New York State Department of Health released Interim Guidance for In-Person Instruction at Pre-K to Grade 12 Schools During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The guidelines are intended to align the August 2020 NYSDOH Guidance with that of the recent CDC recommendations. As previously established by the CDC, the most impactful change to school districts in the state’s guidelines is provisions for moving to three-foot distancing between students.

The new guidelines require district plans to be revised so that the plan:

Is developed “with opportunities for local community feedback from parents, community members, teachers, staff, and local health departments” before any changes to the physical distancing in schools can be made.
Is posted online, shared with local health departments and NYS Education Department.
Minimally covers:
- Reopening of school facilities for in-person instruction,
- Monitoring of health conditions,
- Containment of potential transmission of COVID-19, and
- Closure of school facilities and in-person instruction if necessitated by widespread virus transmission
Indicates that the “Responsible Parties” within the district are charged with the development of the plan and meeting the minimum standards of the plan.
Identifies Local Health Departments as the entity charged with ensuring the enforcement of these minimum standards.
Requires Responsible Parties to work with the school community stakeholders via feedback to propose and adopt changes. Ultimately, the school/district’s decision to move to shorter physical distances will come down to a local community’s risk tolerance based on its unique circumstances.

New Plan Requirements

At a minimum, plans must incorporate the following topics as outlined in the new April 9 NYS Guidelines. Many of these areas are already detailed in the district’s 2020-2021 School Year Plan:

Health & Safety (e.g., capacity, physical distancing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and masks, restart operations, hygiene, cleaning, and disinfection, before and aftercare, screening, testing protocols, containment of positive cases, contact tracing, closure plans)
Instruction (e.g., operational activity, extracurriculars, vulnerable populations)
Social Emotional Well-Being: (e.g., mental health, behavioral, and emotional support services and programs)
Nutrition (follow “Interim Guidance for Food Services During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency”)
Transportation (follow “Interim Guidance for Public Transportation Activities During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” )
Communication of Revised Plan

District Process

Phase	Tasks	Timeline
Phase 1	Guidelines Review and District Plan Revisions	April 10
Phase 2	Stakeholder Feedback	April 13 - 14
Phase 3	Finalize Plan Revisions & Board of Education Review	April 15
Phase 4	Tentative Implementation of New Plan	April 19
Phase 5	Evaluation & Adjustments	through June

Phase 1: Guideline Review and District Plan Revisions

The district received updated guidelines from the NYS Department of Health on April 9, 2021 regarding the operation and instruction of school for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. Areas of planning continue to be within these five areas:

Health & Safety
Instruction
Social Emotional Well-Being
Nutrition
Transportation

Phase 2: Stakeholder Feedback

Horseheads Central School District stakeholder groups (parents/guardians, teachers, staff, local health department) were asked to provide feedback on changes to the physical distancing within our schools, as required in the updated state guidance. Additionally, on March 26, in anticipation of New York State adopting CDC guidance, the district surveyed district families as to their preference for in-person instruction.

Phase 3: Finalize Plan & Board of Education Review

The district reviewed stakeholder feedback to the physical distancing requirement and presented information on the feedback and revised plan to the Board of Education at its April 15, 2021 meeting. The board affirmed the district plan to expand in-person instruction to four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) for hybrid students. Wednesdays will remain remote instruction and student support days.

Phase 4: Implementation of Revised Plan

April 19, 2021

Phase 5: Evaluation & Adjustments

Through June, as needed/appropriate

Health & Safety

The health and safety of the children and adults in our schools is paramount. Health and safety considerations must always come first in every decision made and every action taken by our schools.

Whether instruction is provided in person, remote/online, or through some combination of the two, we have an important role to play in educating and communicating with our community about the precautionary actions the district is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Prevention is accomplished by following the recommendations of health authorities.

As part of its draft plan, the district will include these newly established requirements for Health & Safety:

Physical Distancing

Responsible Parties must ensure that appropriate physical distancing is maintained between individuals while in school facilities and on school grounds, inclusive of students, faculty, and staff, unless safety or the core activity (e.g., instruction, moving equipment, using an elevator, traveling in common areas) requires a shorter distance or individuals are of the same household.
The CDC no longer recommends physical barriers for mitigation where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Six feet is always the required distancing between adults (teachers, staff, visitors) and between students and adults, unless safety or the core activity (e.g., instruction, moving equipment, using an elevator, traveling in common areas) requires a shorter distance.
Face masks are required at all times except for meals in educational settings. In non-educational settings such as office space, NYSDOH guidance refers to an incorporates industry-specific guidance on mask use and distancing.
Six feet of distance is required when eating meals or snacks, or drinking.
Six feet of physical distance must be maintained in common areas and outside of classrooms (e.g., lobbies, auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and hallways), where possible.
For guidance on sports, please refer to the Interim Guidance for Sports and Recreation During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (March 25, 2021)
Individuals participating in activities/classes that require heavy exertion (physical education), projecting the voice (e.g., singing) or playing a wind instrument must be six feet apart and there must be six feet of distance between the performers and the audience/spectators during performances, concerts and/or events.
Responsible Parties should ensure that a distance of six feet in all directions is maintained between individuals while participating in activities requires projecting the voice (e.g., singing), playing a wind instrument, or aerobic activity resulting in heavy breathing (e.g., participating in gym classes).
Responsible Parties may reduce physical distancing requirements to a minimum of three feet between students in classroom settings, subject to adherence to certain mitigation measures (detailed below):

Horseheads Community Transmission and Prevention Indicators*:

In accordance with NYSDOH and Chemung County Health Department recommendations, the district will consider federal, state, local, and district-specific COVID-19 data. The district will use the county data of daily new COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 positive infection rates as the safety metrics for implementation of its revised plan. The data will be derived from the Percentage Positive Results By County Dashboard | New York Forward (ny.gov) and reviewed weekly. Specifically, the district will monitor the county’s 7-day rolling average number of new daily COVID-19 cases and the county’s 7-day rolling average percentage of infection positivity rate. This data will be used to compare to the district charts for High Transmission Rates. In addition, the district will also utilize internal COVID-19 data for infection cases and direct contacts to make local decisions for our schools. This weekly district data will be posted on our website. The district will review this data to evaluate the community transmission rate.

Table 1: Horseheads Indicators and Thresholds for Community Transmission of COVID-19*

Indicator

Low Transmission Blue

Moderate Transmission Yellow

Substantial Transmission Orange

High Transmission

Red

Total new county cases (seven day rolling average)

0-9

10-49

50-99

≥100

Percentage of county tests that are positive (seven day rolling average)

<5.0%

5.0%-7.9%

8.0%-9.9%

≥10.0%

*The district adopts this CDC indicators table with the adjustment and clarification that it will use a 7-day rolling average of county cases. Additionally, the district will continue to use additional national, state and local COVID-19 data that provides valuable information which accurately reflects all COVID tests administered within our region and school-specific data in conjunction with future consultation with our local health department to finalize and needed weekly adjustments.

Table 2: Recommended Prevention Strategies for K-12 Schools and Levels of Community Transmission

Prevention Strategies: All Schools

All schools implement five key prevention strategies:

Universal and correct use of masks required
Physical distancing
Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities
Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine

Prevention Strategies by Level of Community Transmission

Low Transmission

Blue

Moderate Transmission

Yellow

Substantial Transmission

Orange

High Transmission

Red

Elementary Schools

Physical distancing: at least 3 feet between students in classrooms

Elementary Schools

Physical distancing: at least 3 feet of distance between students in classrooms

Cohorting recommended when possible.

Middle and High Schools

Physical distancing: at least 3 feet between students in classrooms

Middle and High Schools

Physical distancing: at least 3 feet of distance between students in classrooms

Cohorting recommended when possible.

Middle and High Schools

Schools that can use cohorting: at least 3 feet of distance.

Schools that cannot use cohorting: at least 6 feet distance between students in classrooms.

Sports and extracurricular activities

Sports and extracurricular activities occur with at least 6 feet of physical distance to the greatest extent possible.

Sports and extracurricular activities

Sports and extracurricular activities occur with at least 6 feet of physical distance required.

Sports and extracurricular activities

Sports and extracurricular activities occur only if they can be held outdoors, with more than 6 feet of physical distancing.

School Transitions/Closures

Under this revision in guidelines, the district may be required to move school(s) to remote instruction or return to the cohort structure used during this school year. If transmission and infection rates rise to a level of concern, the preference will be to move affected school(s) to 100% remote instruction. This move to 100% remote learning will be implemented only if a closure is warranted according to the data and/or consultation with the state or county departments of health.

Health Checks

The Staywell survey will continue to be used to screen staff and students for potential symptoms and situations connected to COVID-19.

All parents/guardians continue to be expected to complete the daily Staywell screening for their student(s) each day prior to leaving their residence. This is especially important with the significant increase of students in buildings each day under this revised plan.
Parents/guardians need to be aware that failure to complete this daily requirement will place their student at risk of being moved to 100% remote learning for the remainder of the school year.
- Building administrators have implemented a process for tracking daily completion of this mandatory requirement for student attendance.
- Failure of parents/guardians to complete this requirement on three occasions puts their student at risk of being placed immediately in 100% remote learning for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year based upon repeated safety violation.
As a reminder, if students are feeling ill, they should stay home. Parents/guardians should contact the school nurse. Students will need to proceed through COVID-19 protocols to return.

Focusing on preventive action, the Horseheads Central School District continues to address these requirements:

Daily temperature screenings continue to occur at school for all students.
Quarantine rooms have already been established for those showing symptoms.
Visitors have been limited to buildings.
Ongoing random testing of students, staff, and athletes will continue throughout the rest of the school year, so long as testing supplies are provided by Chemung County.
Appropriate signage is posted to remind students and staff of correct hand and respiratory hygiene.
The district requires all employees, adult visitors, and students to wear a face covering.
Teachers, staff, and principals will be directed on the protocols allowing for mask breaks by students.
In order to provide in-person instruction, we have secured adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and face coverings for school staff and students.
In conjunction with the local health department, we have a plan for actions to be taken if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a school.
The district has secured the necessary cleaning agents to clean and disinfect schools following CDC/state guidance daily.
The district maintains adequate, code-required ventilation (natural or mechanical) as designed.
The district has removed unnecessary furniture and objects to help maximize the distance between students and for better air flow.

Instruction

Beginning with our reopening in the Fall and through the variations of learning models, at the core of our planning is that our students are entitled to a free public education. All students must have the opportunity to feel safe, engaged, and excited about their learning, whether in-person, remote/online, or some combination of the two. At the heart of teaching and learning are the relationships that students have with their peers, teachers, and school community members. As we all are searching for a return to routines and a sense of normalcy, so have been our efforts in acknowledging the importance of setting a positive routine and welcoming environment that supports students during this unpredictable time.

As we prepare for another shift in instructional delivery, maintaining flexibility and understanding for all students in whichever model they are learning, in-person or remote. We continue to reflect upon best practices in age-appropriate instruction in both the in-person and remote learning environments. The district has worked to address the needs of both in-person learners and those on remote instruction.

April 9, 2021 NYS Guidelines Update

The most recent guidelines provided by the NYS Department of Health are outlined below. The guidelines provided in this section are not new and are a reiteration of language from the July 2020 guidance. The district had already implemented the cohorting model mentioned below in September, creating A and B cohorts of students across the district.

To the extent possible, Responsible Parties are recommended to cohort students, enact measures to prevent intermingling across cohorts, and make reasonable efforts to ensure that cohorts are fixed – meaning contain the same students – for the duration of the school year. Faculty may instruct more than one cohort so long as appropriate physical distancing is maintained.

With changes to the physical distancing parameters detailed in the Health & Safety section above and the relatively low COVID-19 transmission rate in Horseheads schools, the district will phase to combining A and B in-person cohorts to four days a week of full day in-person learning.
The district will transition to a four-day a week in-person model. All current PK-12 hybrid students will attend in-person four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday). All current PK-12 remote students will continue to attend live lessons as scheduled on these days. Wednesdays will continue to be facilitated remotely for all PreK-12 students.
Wednesdays offer a unique opportunity in these unusual times for teachers to meet the needs of all learners and to address the specific needs of our 100% remote learners.
- For students in Grades PK-6, Wednesdays will continue to include a variety of activities for all students, with an emphasis on meeting the needs of 100% remote learners. Teachers will actively engage with all students through remote meetings and provide instructional activities that will be completed by students while online and assigned as offline work. These activities may include enrichment opportunities, interventions, social-emotional support, check-ins, videos, or related assignments made available to students in print for pick up or posted to itslearning. Schoolwide assemblies will continue as well. Building principals and teachers will continue to provide students with the schedule for Wednesday remote learning.
  - Wednesday April 21 and May 5 will not follow the above model as these days fall during the required administration of the NYS ELA and Math Assessments in grades 3-6.
  - The remaining five Wednesdays (April 28, May 12, 19, and June 9, 16) will follow the above model.
- For Middle School students, Wednesdays will continue to follow a full schedule with shortened class periods conducted remotely. Teachers will also continue to provide interventions, enrichment, social emotional support, and answering questions, as well as supporting the remote learners who are not receiving any in-person instructional time.
- For High School students, Wednesdays will follow the full day instructional schedule, with full class periods conducted remotely. This is a change to the current model of instruction in which cohorts attended in-person on Wednesdays. Wednesdays at the High School will be in line with the rest of the district as a remote day.
For most grade levels, district laptops and iPads are expected to be transported back and forth for daily instruction as necessary in classrooms.
Our 100% remote students will continue to attend all classes online according to their schedules, whether it be the teacher schedule established in grades PK-6 or the student’s schedule in grades 7-12.
After the revised plan is implemented for hybrid learning students, schools will reach out to the 100% remote families that indicated on our recent district survey that they would like their students to return to in-person instruction. If the district is able to accommodate, there may be some current remote students who will be able to attend in-person. A process will be developed to facilitate any transitions for 100% remote learning to four day in-person learning.

Attendance

In-person students will be required to attend on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of each week. As in any other school year, if a student is unable to attend in-person, the parent/guardian is required to provide an excuse. Students cannot choose to be a remote learner at will on in-person days. They are required to attend school. There may be circumstances that make it permissible for an in-person learner to connect remotely, providing the student is well enough to learn remotely. Some examples include a required quarantine, awaiting a COVID-19 test result while following the district's health screening protocol, or other medical situations as deemed appropriate by the principal. Such situations must be communicated immediately to the building principal.

Social Emotional Well-Being

As a district we have prioritized the wellness of students and staff in our educational planning. This facet of the state’s mandates is in line with what we value as a community. Therefore, in formulating our district plan for 2020-21, a committee was formed to focus solely on the well-being of our students, employees, parents, and community. Additionally, beyond this committee, each of the other committees during the reopening process this summer (Nutrition, Health & Safety, Transportation, and Instruction) approached the necessary work with this lens as a priority.

To meet the mandates of the state, we have:

Continued to provide resources and referrals to address mental health, behavioral, and emotional support services and programs through various professionals in our district with an expertise in social emotional well-being.
Continued to provide professional learning opportunities for faculty and staff on how to talk with and support students during and after the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as provide supports for developing coping and resilience skills for students, faculty, and staff.

April 9, 2021 NYS Guidelines Update

Available resources and referrals to address mental health, behavioral, and emotional needs of students, faculty, and staff when school reopens for in-person instruction (e.g., how they will identify and support students having difficulty with transitioning back into the school setting, especially given the changed school environment). Any training for faculty and staff on how to talk with, and support, students during and after the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as information on developing coping and resilience skills for students, faculty, and staff.

Nutrition

The district has worked with the BOCES Food Service Program to meet requirements to provide all enrolled students with access to school meals each school day, whether school is in person or remote/online. In doing so, we have:

Addressed all applicable health and safety guidelines.
Detailed procedures for how students will perform hand hygiene before and after eating, how appropriate hand hygiene will be promoted, and how sharing of food and beverages will be discouraged.
Worked with facilities staff to ensure required cleaning and disinfection prior to the next group of students arriving for meals.
Complied with Child Nutrition Program requirements
Included protocols that describe communication with families through multiple means in the languages spoken by families.

April 9, 2021 NYS Guidelines Update

In addition to the ongoing measures above, NYS Department of Health has provided the following new parameters in Nutrition:

Protocols and procedures for onsite and remote food services for students, considering appropriate physical distancing and any modifications to service that may be necessary (e.g., providing meals in a combination of classrooms and cafeterias, staggering meal periods).
- The district will continue its food delivery program for those days that a student is in remote instruction.
- Large communal areas, such as gyms, will be set up for student eating to meet the quantity of students returning to in-person learning. Our cafeterias will not have adequate space to meet the number of students eating lunches under the requirement of six feet of distance when unmasked. Therefore, gyms will be set up with desks spaced at six feet to meet the increased number of students in buildings for lunch and snack purposes.
- For snack breaks and consumption of water during class, buildings will create protocols that continue to follow the six-foot unmasked guideline. Due to the varying number of students in any one classroom across the district, the classroom layout, and a class' schedule, there will be a variety of practices instituted for snack and water breaks. In every circumstance, physical distancing rules will apply.
  - In the case of snack breaks, practices may include but are not limited to staggering snack times for students in the same class and the use of spaces other than the classroom for snack time.
  - For water breaks, teachers will enact measures within their classrooms to ensure a student can drink from a water bottle and be appropriately distanced.

Transportation

The Horseheads Central School District recognizes that the school bus is an extension of the classroom and services should be provided to all students with consistency and equity. To that end, the district has implemented a plan to meet these state requirements:

Students are required to wear masks on the bus. Students who are unable to medically tolerate a face covering (as determined by the child’s physician and the district’s physician), are not subject to the required use of a face covering.
The district provides masks to students who do not have one.
Students have been trained on social distancing at loading times, on the bus, and at unloading times.
Parents/guardians are required to ensure their child/children are not experiencing any signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and do not have a fever of 100 degrees or more prior to them boarding their district transportation.
School bus drivers, monitors, attendants, and mechanics wear a face covering along with an optional face shield. PPE is made available by the district to drivers, monitors, and attendants.
Those with direct physical contact with a child must have gloves that will be provided by the district. Training has been provided on the proper use of PPE and the signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
The district performs regular school bus disinfection measures.
All employees (school bus drivers, monitors, attendants, and mechanics) perform a self-health assessment for symptoms of COVID-19 before arriving to work.
The district continues to fulfill existing mandates regarding the safe and effective transportation of students who are homeless (McKinney-Vento Act), in foster care, have disabilities, and attend non-public schools and charter schools.

April 9, 2021 NYS Guidelines Update

In addition to the ongoing measures above, NYS Department of Health has provided the following additional parameters in Transportation:

Responsible Parties should maximize the distance between students on school buses (for example, seating one child per row and/or skipping rows), when possible.
- To meet transportation requests of those attending four-day in-person learning, physical distancing on buses will maximized whenever possible. There will be instances where two riders may share a set.
- Masking is required at all times when on a school bus and at bus stops.
- Whenever possible, windows or vents will be opened to improve ventilation.
Responsible Parties should encourage parents/legal guardians to drop off or walk students to school to reduce density on buses.

Communication

Responsible Parties must engage with school stakeholders and community members (e.g., administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents/legal guardians of students, local health departments, local health care providers, and affiliated organizations, such as unions, alumni, and/or community-based groups) when developing or updating reopening plans. Plans for reopening should identify the groups of people involved and keep them engaged throughout the planning process.
Responsible Parties must develop a communications plan for students, parents or legal guardians of students, staff, and visitors that includes applicable instructions, training, signage, and a consistent means to provide individuals with information. Responsible parties may consider developing webpages, text, and email groups, and/or social media groups or posts.
Responsible Parties must ensure all students are taught or trained how to follow COVID-19 protocols safely and correctly, including but not limited to hand hygiene, proper mask wearing, physical distancing, and respiratory hygiene.
Responsible Parties must encourage all students, faculty, staff, and visitors through verbal and written communication (e.g., signage) to adhere to CDC and DOH guidance regarding the use of PPE, specifically acceptable masks.
The Director of Human Resources, Assistant Superintendent, and Assistant Superintendent for Business have been designated as the district COVID-19 safety coordinators. Responsibilities include continuous compliance with all aspects of the school’s reopening plan, as well as any phased-in reopening activities necessary to allow for operational issues to be resolved before activities return to normal or “new normal” levels.

For the original District Plan for 2020-21, please click here.