FREEMAN PUBLIC OUTLINES PLAN FOR REOPENING
JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER
The Freeman Public School District has released its plan for reopening its school building later this month — a 28-page document that includes a host of COVID-19-related guidelines that stem from both data obtained locally, as well as the South Dakota Department of Education and Department of Health.
That document, along with two informational videos narrated by Superintendent Kevin Kunz, are available on the school’s website, freeman.k12.sd.us.
Freeman Public is scheduled to start the 2020-21 school year in person on Wednesday, Aug. 19, but is making remote learning available to those who are uncomfortable or unwilling to attend class inside the school building.
“We believe that our plan provides a reasonable and responsible means by which students and staff members can safely return to our physical campus,” Kunz wrote in a cover letter that accompanies the school reopening plan. “We certainly understand that we have a diverse group of students, family and staff and on any given day we have multiple individuals within our building that may be vulnerable to COVID-19 … As a district we want to do all we can to provide a safe learning and work environment for all students and staff and to help mitigate the spread to others outside of our building.”
The document outlines the work Freeman Public has done in developing its back to school plan, including consultation with the Centers for Disease Control, state departments of education and health, Freeman Regional Health Services (FRHS), the South Dakota High School Activities Association and National Federation of High Schools. It also recognizes the work done by the 17-person local back to school task force that included administrators, educators, parents and representatives from FRHS.
“We have tried our best to listen to you, as well as health experts, in developing a plan that we believe not only provides for the safety of our stakeholders, but also promotes opportunity for our students,” Kunz wrote.
Here are a few key points from the plan:
Of the 136 who responded to a local survey, 87.5% indicated their student would return to the classroom this fall and 67% of families indicated they were either “extremely comfortable” or “comfortable” sending their child back to school as long as the number of local cases was stable. That number increased to 72% when calculating the 43 responses from school staff.
The plan breaks down mitigation strategies based on three scenarios — no cases in the building, isolated cases in the building and substantial cases in the building.
Families and staff are asked to self-screen at home, keeping an eye out for a fever in excess of 100.4, cough, shortness of breath, chills, unusual muscle pain, headache, loss of taste or smell and exposure to someone who has been tested for COVID-19.
Students who are not feeling well should stay home from school.
Screening will also be available at the school during the day for students who report any symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 illness.
Masks will not be required as long as there are no cases inside the building but are encouraged upon entering the building; masks will be provided by the school upon request.
If isolated cases are reported in the building, masks will be required in designated areas.
In the event of substantial cases in the building, in-person instruction will be suspended.
In his cover letter, Kunz also acknowledged the fluidity of the situation and that the guidelines outlined today may change in the weeks and months to come.
“Once school is in session, we will be evaluating our procedures and protocols on a weekly, if not daily, basis,” he wrote. “If we feel it is safe to peel back some of the restrictions in our procedures we will do so, and if we need to add more procedures, we will do that as well.”
Finally, Kunz noted the district is using this mitigation strategy as an opportunity to examine more closely its approach to education as a whole and how Freeman Public reaches all of its community.
“This is a moment to reconsider and shift past practices that have contributed to a lack of equitable opportunities for our students,” the superintendent wrote. “Please know that we are also committed to using this moment to improve and transform our processes to create more opportunity for our students. We will accomplish this together, keeping student and staff safety and well-being as our highest priority during the reopening process and throughout the entire school year.”
