Paterson Public Schools Health Related Closure Preparedness Plan 2019-2020

Paterson Public Schools Health
Related Closure Preparedness Plan
                 2019-2020

March 12, 2020                      1

In the event that the Paterson Public School District is mandated by either the New
Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) or the Paterson Health Officer to institute a
public health-related closure, the school district will implement the plan below to
provide home instruction and food services to Paterson Public School students.

The plan includes equitable access to materials and instruction for all students in
grades Pre-K – 12. Home instruction has been divided into two phases:
        o   Phase one lesson plans/activities will cover instruction for Days 1-10 and
            will be completed at the school level.
        o   Phase two lesson plans/activities will cover instruction for Days 11-20 and
            will be completed at the district level.

       All lesson plans and student work packets will be uploaded on the Principal
        Shared Drive.

       Lesson plans and activities developed include review, reinforcement and
        interdisciplinary activities aligned to New Jersey Student Learning Standards
        (NJSLS)

       Assignments will be posted on Google Classroom for students with home
        internet accessibility.

       Paper-Based assignments will be provided for all students to ensure equity and
        accessibility.

       All assignments will be uploaded to each school’s website.

Special populations:
         o Special Education: Students’ instructional program shall be consistent
            with their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) to the extent appropriate
            and aligned to the NJSLS.
         o English Language Learners: Students’ instructional program shall be
            consistent with their level of language development inclusive of ESL
            instructional activities.

       Digital software programs (ie, ALEKS, Imagine Math, Success Maker, Raz Kids,
        Achieve 3000, IReady, Moby Max, Google Classroom, etc) will be available to all
        students with home internet access. Time spent on these programs will be
        logged and submitted to teachers via a Data Tracker.

       March 12, 2020                                                                     2

    Upon reopening of schools, students will submit their packets to their teachers
        and the work will be graded and entered into Infinite Campus.

       Packets will be sent home with students no later than Wednesday, March 18th
        with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the packet. The District will also
        notify parents/guardians of the packets through Robocall as well as posting the
        information on the District website.

                               Communication Timeline

March 4:

       The Communications Department added a COVID-19 page to the Paterson
        Public Schools website. The page provides daily updates on the district’s actions
        regarding COVID-19, videos and other resources about precautions against
        COVID-19, and links to resources from the centers for Disease Control and
        Prevention, the New Jersey Health Department, and the Paterson Health
        Department. The webpage is updated daily.

       Superintendent Shafer issued a letter to district families and staff informing
        them of precautions that can be taken against COVID-19, informing them of the
        creation of the COVID-19 webpage, and updating them on actions the Facilities
        Department is taking in response to the threat of COVID-19. The letter was
        distributed in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Bengali.
March 5:

       Superintendent Shafer recorded and broadcasted a robocall to all district staff
        and families updating them on the district's actions regarding COVID-19.

March 9:
   The Superintendent communicated with parents/guardians via Robocall
     informing them of what the District is doing with regards to COVID-19.

       District launched an Information Call Center to receive questions from families
        and staff about district matters related to the virus. The Information Call Center
        is able to receive questions in four languages on four separate phone lines,
        which are as follows: for English, (973) 321-0609, for Arabic, call (973) 321-
        0610, for Spanish, call (973) 321-0611, for Bengali, call (973) 321-0612. Callers
        record their questions at the call center and within 24 hours receive a District
        response. District staff will check messages regularly Monday through Friday.
        The phone numbers have been posted to the district’s website and social media
        accounts.

       March 12, 2020                                                                     3

    A Robocall was broadcasted informing families of a 1 p.m. student dismissal on
       Friday, March 13 to allow staff to plan lessons to be used in case of school
       closings.

March 10:

      Principal meeting was held to the Academic Plan for health-related closure and
       District preventive measures.

      PPS Families Home Technology Survey was created and distributed to district
       families to determine technology and internet accessibility.

March 11:

      Superintendent Shafer’s video message to students was produced and sent to
       principals.

      A District steering committee and task force were created and met to discuss
       plans of action on prevention and preparedness.

      Superintendent Shafer’s video messages to students, staff, and parents were
       produced and distributed via the District website.

                                   Staff Attendance

      Staff are required to be accessible via email during school hours for students/
       parents to answer questions regarding the work provided to the students.

      Staff must maintain a log of daily work as well as all communications with
       students, parents, administrators and submit to their direct report by 3 pm
       daily. The log will serve as evidence for work attendance. In instances where no
       emails were received this would be noted on the log and submitted to the
       administrator.

      Administrators must maintain a daily online log with staff communication as
       evidence of work attendance. Logs must be submitted to their Unit Assistant
       Superintendents daily.

                                  Student Attendance

      In order to avoid the possibility of extending the school year and receive credit
       toward the 180-day attendance requirement, the student’s work submission
       will be utilized as evidence of their attendance. Students who do not submit
       work will be considered absent for the day’s work that was not turned in.

      March 12, 2020                                                                       4

Out of District Placements:

       In the event that the Board of Education is provided a written directive by either
        the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) or the Paterson Health Officer to
        institute a public-health related closure, we will not transport our students to
        out of district placements. This is only in the event that all of our schools are
        directed to close.

       Should individual schools be mandated to close, transportation for out of
        district placements will continue as long as the receiving school is open.

       If receiving schools are closed, Paterson Public Schools will make provisions for
        meals.

Related Services:

       Parents and/or guardians will be provided a letter documenting compensatory
        sessions owed.

                                 Facilities Preparedness

       Custodial staff were provided information on the use of the products and
        protocols for preventive measures.

           o   All schools received a shipment of disinfectant products.

           o   All schools received posters in multiple languages with instructions to
               hang them in locations throughout the building reminding students of
               proper handwashing procedures.

           o   Touch points (handrails, doorknobs, safety bars, etc.) are being sanitized
               on a nightly basis.

           o   Use of facilities for events is being reviewed for limitation of community
               spread.

       The Department of Transportation has been in contact with contracted bus
        companies to review and implement sanitation procedures for buses.

       March 12, 2020                                                                       5

Field Trips & Conferences

       As a precautionary measure all field trips have been cancelled for the month of
        March.

       Staff conferences have been cancelled until further notice.

       Determinations regarding upcoming months will be made as needed for both
        conferences and field trips. In the event of Health-Related school closures, all
        student activities will be cancelled.

               School Nutrition benefits or services for eligible students

Breakfast and lunch will be distributed at designated sites throughout the city
Monday - Friday.

           Meals will be shelf-stable, limited in variety, reusable and unitized, meaning
            that all components are within the same package.

           Security will be provided to ensure safety of our students during the
            distribution of the meals.

       March 12, 2020                                                                      6

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