Crane reminds families of protocols implemented for in-person learning
Families returning to in-person learning via Crane School District’s in-person learning model – set to commence Tuesday on all district campuses – can rest assured that an extensive series of protocols have been implemented to maintain a safe, healthy learning environment for all students and staff, the district said on Tuesday.
In a letter distributed to all Crane families, Superintendent Laurie Doering reemphasized that the decision to resume five-daya-week, in-person learning followed months of deliberately monitoring Yuma County’s health metrics, seeking guidance from experts in both education and public health and garnering feedback from community members.
“The Crane Governing Board listened to the comments from the public, reviewed the presentation (from previous meetings) and ultimately decided that students may return to the classroom for a variety of reasons that include educational achievement and social and emotional wellbeing,” wrote Doering. “Therefore, it is now our task to prepare for our students and staff to return to traditional, five day a week learning as of next Tuesday.”
Among the protocols are up-to-date immunizations. According to the letter, if students’ records are lacking any necessary immunizations, they will not be able to attend in-person learning until those have been updated.
Parents can contact their primary healthcare provider, the Yuma County Health Department at (928) 317-4559, Sunset Health’s school-based community health center at (928) 3299442 or NextCare Urgent Care at (888) 381-4858.
Upon their return to school, all students will be required to wear a face covering when riding the bus, when walking to the bus and waiting in line to board, when getting off the bus and walking into school, when walking to and from the classroom during transition periods and restroom breaks and when walking to and from recess, the cafeteria, the health office, the front office and physical education (P.E.).
Exceptions may be made at the discretion of each school’s administrator when a 6-foot physical distance can be met.
Face coverings will not be required when students are eating breakfast and lunch, when they are playing a band instrument in an indoor school setting and during P.E. when physical distance can be maintained.
Face coverings will not be required of children younger than age 5, children who are deaf or hard of hearing that rely on facial or mouth movements to communicate, children who have a disability that prevents them from comfortably wearing and/or removing a face covering or those advised by a medical, legal or behavioral health professional that wearing a face covering may pose some kind of risk to them. Religious exemptions also apply.
All protocols are outlined in the Crane Mitigation Plan, available at craneschools.org/Fall20201.aspx.
With cold and flu season fast-approaching, parents are urged to keep their children home if they are sick or showing any symptoms of being sick in order to not “exacerbate the current situation brought on by the pandemic” further.
Symptoms include a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, chills, cough, congestion or runny nose, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, fatigue, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and new loss of taste and/or smell.
If children exhibit any of these symptoms, the district asks that their parent or guardian notifies their school of their absence.
TRANSPORTATION
If in-person students are reliant on the district’s transportation services to shuttle them to and from school, the district asks them to complete an application in English at https://forms.gle/F5X3xehjrGhkuVTo6 or in Spanish at https://forms.gle/s2Nxg1aoimmFcsk78.
According to Doering, transportation services will be available to students who reside within the boundaries of their home campus but beyond the 1-mile walking radius designated for each school. Families with multiple children need to submit a separate application for each one.
At this time, transportation is unavailable for students who live outside of the district’s attendance boundaries and on the base of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS).
“Due to the unforeseen current and anticipated shortage of school bus drivers, the district has had to explore and implement measures that would permit it to best serve the district population and cause the least amount of disruption possible,” wrote Doering. “The suspension of these services are of a temporary nature and will be evaluated for reinstatement when staffing resources become available.”
COMMUNICATION
According to Doering, in the event of a partial or full school closure, it is vital that campuses have update contact information for each family in order to communicate immediate updates.
If families have not yet subscribed to the district’s Blackboard Connect mass email system, they are encouraged to contact their school to do so as soon as possible.
Additionally, Crane continues to communicate regular updates and news items via its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms.