BEA’s preliminary reopening plan: Masking, temperature checks and sanitation
With safety as the top priority, the Bald Eagle Area School District released preliminary reopening plans as students and staff are expected to return for in-person learning this fall.
In a letter sent to district families, BEA Superintendent Scott Graham described an outline of the school’s safety and instructional plan for the 2020-21 school year, which was developed in-part by a team of 40 and includes administrators, staff and one board member.
“The Bald Eagle Area School District’s number one priority is the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” Graham wrote. “We are committed to working with parents and staff to have a smooth transition back to school. We live in uncertain times, but I hope that this letter gives you some comfort in knowing we are committed to creating a safety and instructional plan that meets the needs of all students and staff.”
Plan drafts are expected to be completed in the coming weeks. After sending them to the school solicitor for review, the district will post plans on its website and Facebook page. A special board meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 30 at 7 p.m. where the board will vote to approve them.
Last week, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine and Gov. Tom Wolf expanded Pennsylvania’s business safety order by taking mandatory masking a step further. The new order, which aims to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19, requires mandatory masking outside when unable to social distance, on public transportation and in public buildings including schools.
Although there is flexibility in the state’s guidelines, BEA will be using them to formulate a more refined plan to be implemented this fall.
Items included in the plans are:
- Masks or face coverings will be mandatory on district buses and vans for all students and the drivers.
- Students will not be required to wear masks or face coverings during instruction, but staff likely will be required to do so with certain exceptions.
- Students will be required to wear masks in the hallways during class changes due to the sheer number and close proximity they will be with each other.
Students, including those who attend Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, will be given the option of taking online classes.
BEA plans to provide items like oral digital thermometers, masks and face shields to students and staff.
“There have been rumors circulating in the community that some students with certain medical conditions will be segregated from the other students,” Graham wrote. “That is absolutely not true. No student will be segregated or separated from their peers unless requested by the parent(s) of the child.”
The preliminary plans are being designed for the green and yellow phases of the state’s reopening plan. If Centre County would move back into the red phase, all learning will shift online.
Graham said parents must take their child’s temperature before sending them to school. If their temperature is greater than or equal to 100.4 degrees, students must stay home.
If in the yellow reopening phase, all staff and students will have their temperatures checked by school staff before entering the building each morning.
BEA is also testing an ionization machine, a device that kills bacteria and some viruses and may be installed in all classrooms.
“While there are many people that are asymptomatic and can spread the virus, we need to do everything possible to prevent the spread of the virus,” he wrote.
