Keeping classrooms safe
First weeks of school to be online learning only
With in-person learning set to take place after the Labor Day weekend for Taos Municipal Schools, preparations to keep kids safe inside of the classroom has been taking place over the past few months. That’s according to TMS superintendent Lillian Torrez, who on Wednesday (July 15) — along with Alfred Cordova, principal of Taos Middle School — presented the back-to-school plan to the school board. The final decision of the board on the reentry plan will have been given on Wednesday (July 22), the same day this story went to press.
While school officially starts for the district Aug. 13, students will learn online until modified in-class instruction begins Sept. 8.
When it comes to keeping kids safe from the virus, there are a variety of different procedures that schools will follow – as well as personal protective equipment that will be given out to those who need it, according to Torrez.
In fact, Torrez said the district has spent about $110,000 so far and has plans to spend another $60,000 for more supplies – all to keep students safe.
Masks and sanitizer — and disinfecting
Torrez said that the school district is asking students to bring their own masks to school when in-person learning resumes. However, Torrez said that the district also purchased three-ply surgical masks to hand out to students if they need one.
“Students and staff will be required to wear masks, face shields or both at the same time,” Torrez said. “We have PPE equipment mostly in, but are waiting for a few more.”
Bottles of hand sanitizer will be provided to students, according to Torrez. More than 1,000 bottles total were purchased, Torrez said.
Torrez added that disinfectant wipes and spray will also be provided, and that, daily, there will be “in-depth” disinfecting of classrooms, offices and other areas inside of schools.
On Wednesdays, the inside of schools will be disinfected with a fogger machine. “All protocols will be taking place and everyone will always be on alert to make sure checklists are 100 percent complete,” Torrez said.
Cleaning bathrooms, though, will happen throughout the day and Torrez said that each time a bathroom is cleaned in the district it will be “logged with [a] time and date.”
To make bathrooms safer to use, touchless soap and towel dispensers will be provided, Torrez said. It will be required that students and staff wash their hands frequently throughout the school day.
Screening at school
Torrez said that the district won’t be providing COVID-19 tests for students, but that daily they will do screenings prior to entering schools, which also includes temperature checks.
“We will have four touchless thermometers on buses and all school entrances will have someone manning the thermometer kiosks which will take the temperature of every person passing through,” Torrez said. “These are logged as we do screening every morning.”
Students who ride the bus, Torrez said, will have their temperature taken twice — once before boarding the bus and once arriving at school.
Torrez added that 400 touchless thermometers will be provided to schools in the district to use for temperature checks; a fever is one indication of possible infection.
Keeping safe in the classroom
When students are in classrooms, the size of each group will look much smaller. TMS plans on allowing 25 percent of students into the classroom per day after the Labor Day weekend. That means students, for now, will be in the classroom once a week. But that can change.
Social and physical distancing will be of utmost importance, Torrez said. As kids tend to be more unaware of the need to stay six feet apart – and as it is common for students in high school to frequently shake hands and hug – the plan is to teach them more about the novel coronavirus.
“We will train students with ‘healthy management procedures’ and educate them in COVID-19,” Torrez said. “They will learn procedures for small cohort groups (like staying in a family), from entering the school to leaving.”
Desks will be six feet apart inside of the classroom and they will all face one direction, Torrez said. There will be a limit of 10 desks per classroom and each will come attached with a cardboard or plastic carrel – which looks a lot like a testing divider – to keep kids safe.
Torrez said that the district opted for these instead of Plexiglas, as the cost was about 90 percent cheaper.
Air filtration systems will also be installed in every school in the district. In particular, the district will be “installing MERV 10 new filters in all schools with MERV 13 ordered and delayed for the next few months,” Torrez said. She added that all windows will remain open during the school day to allow in fresh air.
What about lunch break?
Lunches, for now, will be provided inside of the classroom. Students who choose not to attend for in-person learning will have lunch delivered to their homes. Breakfast will also be provided.
As for lunch breaks – or recess – those “will be staggered to allow students to break outdoors or in small groups to accommodate social distancing,” Torrez said.
Essential personnel only
Torrez said that visitors and volunteers will not be allowed on campus at this time, as they are not considered essential.
Parents or guardians of students may be allowed on campus, but by appointment only.
“School building access will be limited to people providing essential functions only,” Torrez said.
Torrez said that a task force of 46 people has been working tirelessly on this back-to-school plan for months – and that safety has always been the main priority. But these plans can change on a whim, as the novel coronavirus is everchanging.
“We have worked tirelessly since March 12th with no spring break, to prepare our remote learning program and transported breakfast/lunch and food care packages,” Torrez said.