Given the depth and breadth of influencing factors while realizing some commitments are in  direct conflict with other important commitments SDFA embraces the notion that our  efforts are to make schools “safer” knowing that we can never make schools 100% “safe.”

Cleaning and Disinfecting

In addition to traditional cleaning methods, increased COVID-19 measures for daily cleaning and disinfection of classrooms, gymnasiums, restrooms, locker rooms, cafeteria seating, and other facilities is critical to preventing the spread of all illnesses, including COVID-19, and seasonal influenza.

The SDFA custodial staff will pay special attention to touch points and common surfaces, in high-traffic areas, such as waterfill stations, doorknobs, light switches, desks, computers, phones, toilets, faucets, sinks, handrails, etc.

In some cases other staff (non-custodial staff) will be relied upon for some of this daily cleaning within classrooms.

Adhering to 'time on surface' requirements in accordance with the EPA, approved disinfectants will be used. 

Chemical Cleaning Products Used

The SDFA uses the EPA approved disinfectants that include hospital grade disinfectant or fresh 10% chlorine bleach solution (sodium hypochlorite solution), as appropriate. Included on the EPA List N: disinfectants for use against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.  Spic and Span & Comet disinfectant qualify. Brutabs for Victory Sprayers & Clorox 360 cartridges qualify as well.

Sanitation and Hygiene Signage

Posters and signs in all buildings will be provided by the District with assistance from the school nurse. Posters such as cover your cough, handwashing, and stopping the spread of germs are examples of such signage.

To reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the SDFA requires students and employees to perform health wellness checks on a daily basis.

Thermometers

If a family does not have access to a thermometer, please contact your school principal or pupil services department. The District will provide free thermometers as supplies last. 

Additionally, each school building has access to at least one touchless thermometer for use for students and staff exhibiting COVID-19 like symptoms.

Health Rooms

Each school now has two health rooms. The first health room is the traditional room for children receiving medications, treated for bumps and bruises, doing blood sugar checks,  and other routine health-related needs. The second health room is for students experiencing  COVID-19 like symptoms.

Both rooms will be supervised by office staff.  If a child has COVID-19 symptoms, a parent, guardian, or emergency contact member will be contacted and the child will be sent home.

Parents/Guardians will receive communication from their school principal and/or classroom teacher regarding these supplies. Among the typical back-to-school supplies, families will also be asked to provide a refillable water bottle and additional face coverings.

For parents/guardians who have the means to donate extra supplies, please consider doing so. 

• Increased space between students by rearranging seating to maximize space between students.   
• Space desks as far away as possible and require face coverings at all times in that classroom for students and staff.   
• Teachers are encouraged to place markings on the floor for good visuals for students to identify the physical distances. 

All bubblers’ (drinking fountains) push bars have been deactivated. To reduce these high touch surfaces water bottle filling stations have been installed in all buildings.  

Students are to bring their own water bottle to school labeled with their name. Please contact your school principal if you are unable to obtain a refillable water bottle.

Parents/guardians will receive communication from their school principal and/or classroom teacher regarding water bottle needs.   Parents/guardians are responsible for cleaning their child’s water bottle on a daily basis. 

Plexiglass barriers will be installed in office workspaces such as administrative assistants’  desks and other areas as appropriate. When students, staff, visitors, and guests are greeted by the building administrative assistant, the desk may have a plexiglass barrier. In some cases, student work stations may have plexiglass barriers as well.

According to the CDC and the AAP, enforcing physical distancing in an outside playground may be difficult and may not be the most effective method of risk mitigation. Emphasis should be placed on cohorting students and limiting the size of groups participating in playground time. Outdoor transmission of the COVID-19 virus is known to be much lower than indoor transmission.     

Students and supervisors must practice good hand hygiene before going out to play and immediately upon returning inside the school building.   

Various areas, such as the narrow steps at schools, may necessitate designated steps for going up and going down.

The flow of students in the buildings will be closely monitored and steps will be taken to minimize high volume areas.

Large common areas, such as cafeterias, will have floor markings indicating places to stand with 6 feet social distancing.

Visitors - 

• Visitors will be limited to appointment only.   
• Signage will be posted at the entrance of each building indicating that visitors screen themselves prior to entry for symptoms (Self-screener listed on the sign). 
• In the case of an emergency visitors will be allowed even without an appointment.   
• Face coverings will be required when physical distancing is not possible.   
• Visitors are encouraged to bring their own face coverings, but if they do not have one,  a disposable mask will be provided.   
• If a visitor needs to drop an item off at school we ask them to buzz themselves into the vestibule of the school entryway and place the item(s) on a table provided with a note explaining who/what the item is for. 

Family Meetings

Family meetings such as IEPs, meetings with counselors, and meetings with teachers will be encouraged to be done virtually. When a virtual option is not possible, a face to face meeting is certainly acceptable. During face to face meetings face coverings will be required.

Each building will have clearly marked entrances and exits.  There will be signage available at each entrance which will list the self-screener for all students and staff. 

• School Nurse or designated school staff needing to provide direct patient care will wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including N95 masks and perform hand hygiene after removing PPE. Equipment may include a face shield, face mask, protective goggles, gloves, and gown. 
• Touchless thermometers are provided for each building and will be used to take temperature readings. 
• Anyone exhibiting COVID-19 like symptoms will be expected to go home.  Parents/guardians or emergency contacts for students will be contacted. 
• Symptomatic individuals will remain under visual supervision by a staff member at least 6 feet away. The supervising staff member will wear a face covering. 
• Symptomatic individuals are required to wear a face covering while waiting to leave the school. 
• Cleaning and disinfecting protocols will be followed after the symptomatic individual has left the health room. 

Confidentiality

The District recognizes that an individual's health status is personal and private. Therefore,  the District shall handle information regarding students and District employees with suspected or confirmed communicable diseases in accordance with state and federal laws and Board policies governing the confidentiality of student and staff health records. 

Jefferson County has hired a full-time Epidemiologist. Recommendations from their office regarding closure, contact tracing, and decision making with positive cases can be found HERE.

• Public health departments have used contact tracing for decades to identify a person with a communicable illness, isolate that person, and quarantine others with high-risk exposure to the infected person to prevent disease spread. This technique has worked with the measles, chickenpox, mumps, and multiple other illnesses seen in schools. 
• If a school district becomes aware that an individual who has spent time in a district facility tests positive for COVID-19, the district officials must immediately notify local health officials from the Jefferson Department of Public Health officials of a confirmed case while maintaining confidentiality. 
• If exposure occurred at school, students and staff may or may not be able to continue coming to school based on exposure assessment. This exposure assessment will be completed by the school nurse in conjunction with Jefferson County Health Department officials. 
• Contact tracing for all positive COVID-19 cases will be completed by Jefferson County  Public Health, Department of Health Services, and other agencies in conjunction with the school nurse and assistance from school district administrators. 
• School officials will cooperate with the contact tracing investigation with attendance records of bus transportation, classroom cohorts, cafeteria seating, and other such contacts that will allow for quick identification of those at high risk of infection from the positive COVID-19 student and staff. 
• Quarantine of 14 days may be necessary for those identified through contact tracing 
• Contact tracing will be conducted for close contacts (any individual within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes and both parties not wearing a face covering) or any new requirements for contact tracing as established by health officials. 

If a child/family refuses to wear a face covering, they will be offered virtual instruction only and will not be allowed to ride the bus or participate in the in-person educational program. If a child cannot wear a face covering due to health reasons, please contact your building principal.

"Face covering'' means a piece of cloth or other material that is worn to cover the nose and mouth completely. A "face covering'' includes but is not limited to a bandana, a cloth face mask, a disposable or paper mask, a neck gaiter, or a religious face covering. A "face covering'' does not include face shields, mesh masks, masks with holes or openings, or masks with vents.

All students and staff members will receive one reusable face covering from the district on the 1st day of school. Each school will have a designated school supply list which will include additional reusable face coverings for each student.
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Face coverings will be a school supply item this year.  We are requesting that families provide 9 face coverings for the week.  Face coverings should be switched out at lunch each day, and then washed at night.  

Each student will receive 1 reusable face covering on the first day of school.  The district has purchased both reusable and disposable face coverings that will be available in the main office of each building if needed.  Please contact your building’s main office for further information.

Face coverings will be required for all students and staff.  If/when we are able to achieve the recommended physical distancing, there will be an opportunity to remove face coverings while in that space.  

If you do not feel comfortable sending your child to school with this precaution, then we would recommend that you participate via the blended learning model which is virtual and can be completed from your home.

The District Technology Department will be providing every enrolled (in-person and virtual format) student with a mobile device to access the internet, complete coursework, and access course materials. Students will be allowed to take the device home and are required to bring it to in-person classes, fully charged each day. Students/families should familiarize themselves with our Student Technology Acceptable Use and Safety Policy found on our website. Fees may be assessed to families due to damage to any district property including mobile devices. It is important that parents help their children to properly care for their mobile device, including keeping it clean and to use it effectively for online learning.

Information about when and where students can check out their device can be found here.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

In addition to traditional cleaning methods, increased COVID-19 measures for daily cleaning and disinfection of classrooms, gymnasiums, restrooms, locker rooms, cafeteria seating, and other facilities is critical to preventing the spread of all illnesses, including COVID-19, and seasonal influenza.

The SDFA custodial staff will pay special attention to touch points and common surfaces, in high-traffic areas, such as waterfill stations, doorknobs, light switches, desks, computers, phones, toilets, faucets, sinks, handrails, etc.

In some cases other staff (non-custodial staff) will be relied upon for some of this daily cleaning within classrooms.

Adhering to 'time on surface' requirements in accordance with the EPA, approved disinfectants will be used.

Please see the below graphics which give an overview of the cleaning and safety measures we have in place.

Chemical Cleaning Products Used

The SDFA uses the EPA approved disinfectants that include hospital grade disinfectant or fresh 10% chlorine bleach solution (sodium hypochlorite solution), as appropriate. Included on the EPA List N: disinfectants for use against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Spic and Span & Comet disinfectant qualify. Brutabs for Victory Sprayers & Clorox 360 cartridges qualify as well.

Sanitation and Hygiene Signage

Posters and signs in all buildings will be provided by the District with assistance from the school nurse. Posters such as cover your cough, handwashing, and stopping the spread of germs are examples of such signage.

Yes - bussing will be available for students.  However, parents/guardians are encouraged to use alternative modes of transportation for their children if you have the means and options to do so. This will allow for reduced numbers of students on the buses to accommodate physical distancing where possible and shorten the amount of time students are on the bus given the changes made to the transportation system outlined below.

Although physical distancing is not feasible on school buses, the School District of Fort Atkinson and Double Three Transportation are working on the best routing assignments to minimize the potential for exposure. Steps that will be taken for bus transportation this year include:

• Elimination of the Transfer Point - This may mean each bus will need to visit multiple schools to drop off and pick up all children on their route. This will mean earlier pickups in the morning and later drop offs in the afternoon. Every effort will be made to minimize a child’s time on the bus. 
• Bus drivers and riders are required to wear face coverings. If a child cannot wear a face covering due to health reasons, please contact your Building Principal.
• Seats may be assigned on all bus routes.
• Physical distancing will be maintained to the extent possible depending on the number of students on the bus route. This may require children of the same household to sit together, sit one student per seat, sit students nearest the window, sit every other seat, or some combination of these. 
• If appropriate and safe, windows will be encouraged to be open while the vehicle is in motion to help reduce the spread of the virus by increasing air circulation. 
• Hand sanitizer will be available on every bus to support healthy hygiene behaviors. 
• If a student becomes sick during the day, they will not be allowed to use the bus transportation to return home. 
• Congregating in the aisle will not be allowed.
• Eating, drinking and chewing gum on the bus will not be allowed. 
• Each vehicle will be cleaned and disinfected following every route run with special attention given to high-touch surfaces (door handles, windows, grab handles, etc.) 
• Signage regarding special rules during the pandemic will be posted in each vehicle.

In August the District and Double Three Transportation will review those students that have elected the in-person option and are eligible for District provided transportation. Those families will receive a communication from Double Three Transportation verifying whether the student(s) will ride the bus or not. Once all families are confirmed, routes will be designed and estimated pick up and drop off times established and communicated to the family. Should you have any questions regarding your child(ren)’s transportation, please contact Double Three Transportation at 920.563.3652.

The School District of Fort Atkinson will continue to participate in, and follow all requirements of the School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program and Wisconsin School Day Milk Program. Modifications will be made to these programs to minimize the potential for exposure. These modifications include:

• A limited number of daily meal options for students to choose from to encourage expediency through the serving line. 
• Serving classes in staggered shifts to accommodate physical distancing within the designated lunch area. 
• Cafeterias will be equipped with plexiglass panels in the serving line, as well as on the tables wherever possible,  to create a physical barrier, when mask use would be difficult. 
• Disposable food service items such as utensils and dishes will be used as often as possible, as recommended by the CDC and/or local Health Authorities. 
• There will be no self-serve food stations such as salad bars and condiment bars. All condiments will be individually packaged. 
• Student Nutrition employees and any staff handling or preparing food or beverages, food preparation equipment and supplies, or pre-packaged food containers will be required to use appropriate PPE, including masks, face shields and gloves, as outlined in the CDC guide for best practices for food safety. 
• Cleaning and sanitizing of food service areas will follow CDC and Health Authority approved practices. 
• In an effort to limit visitors and outside contaminants, a service will be offered where parents and staff can order treats through the Student Nutrition Program for things such as birthdays or classroom parties. 
• Due to the need to limit contact point exposures, student delivery of food orders from restaurants will not be permitted during the normal school day at all schools.
• All students will be issued an ID with a barcode. These cards will be used to access lunch accounts, in order to eliminate the use of keypads and PIN numbers. 
• In order to decrease high touch points in the cafeteria, microwave ovens will not be available.

Since each school building’s cafeteria layout and physical service space varies, more specific information regarding the operation of the student nutrition program at each school will be shared by the Building Principal.

An option for receiving school meals will be provided to students that have chosen the virtual only option. More information regarding that structure will be forthcoming and communicated to the parents/guardians of virtual students.

If you have any questions regarding the Student Nutrition Program, please contact Christina Oswald, Student Nutrition Director at oswaldc@fortschools.org or via phone at 920.563.7811 ext.1159.

Parents/Guardians will receive communication from their school principal and/or classroom teacher regarding these supplies. Among the typical back-to-school supplies, families will also be asked to provide a refillable water bottle and additional face coverings.

For parents/guardians who have the means to donate extra supplies, please consider doing so.

According to the CDC and the AAP, Enforcing physical distancing in an outside playground may be difficult and may not be the most effective method of risk mitigation. Emphasis should be placed on cohorting students and limiting the size of groups participating in playground time. Outdoor transmission of the COVID-19 virus is known to be much lower than indoor transmission.     

Students and supervisors must practice good hand hygiene before going out to play and immediately upon returning inside the school building.

Our goal is to have classrooms look and feel just as warm and friendly as they typically do with a couple of extra safety precautions.

Desks and Spacing

• Increased space between students by rearranging seating to maximize space between students to be 6 feet or more is ideal if classroom space and the number of students and staff allows for this. If students and staff are able to social distance to this distance, face coverings can be removed.  
• If the physical space in the classroom (and other settings) does not allow for spacing students’ desks 6 feet apart, then space desks as far away as possible and require face coverings at all times in that classroom for students and staff.   
• Teachers are encouraged to place markings on the floor for good visuals for students to identify with the 6-foot distances. 

Plexiglass Barriers

Plexiglass barriers may be installed in instructional settings, collaborative spaces, lunch areas, and student work stations.  Plexiglass barriers may also be installed in office workspaces such as administrative assistants’  desks and other areas as appropriate.  When students, staff, visitors, and guests are greeted by the building administrative  assistant, the desk may have a plexiglass barrier. 

Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms, as well as staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms, are asked to contact the <NAME_OF_COUNTY> Health Department at <TELEPHONE_NUMBER>. Any individual experiencing these symptoms should not come to school and will need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before being able to return to school.

If a family’s learning format preference changes, families must notify the district by Wednesday, August 26 using the Change of Learning Format Request Form on the District website.  This form will be available next week.  

The district is encouraging families to commit to a learning format selection for one quarter (9 weeks).   If a family feels a change in learning format needs to occur within the quarter due to an unexpected circumstance or academic need, requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If a student falls ill they will be transitioned to the virtual format during their time away and may return once the quarantine time period has been completed.

Students and Staff – who were in the same classroom or any other room and within 6 feet for more than a cumulative time of 15 minutes or had any physical contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 – should quarantine and shift to virtual instruction for 14 days from time of exposure.

• If desks are placed 6 feet apart, students remain at their desks throughout the duration of class, and the teacher remains at the front of the class at least 6 feet away from any students, there would be no close contacts identified in the classroom and additional students would not need to quarantine.
• If desks are placed less than 6 feet apart, students remain at their desks throughout the duration of class, and the teacher remains at the front of the class at least 6 feet away from any students, those students within the 6-foot radius of the case would be considered close contacts and should be placed in quarantine. The teacher and students outside the 6-foot radius would not need to quarantine.
• If the classroom is arranged such that students are moving freely throughout the classroom without maintaining 6-foot distance and interacting with the teacher, all students and the teacher would be considered close contacts and should be placed in quarantine, given that the duration of free movement exceeded 15 minutes total in a day.
• If the students move between multiple classrooms throughout the day and desks are placed less than 6 feet apart, those students within the 6-foot radius in each of the classrooms the case was in would be considered close contacts and should be placed in quarantine.

We strongly recommend that all who are exposed are tested for COVID-19, if possible.

Siblings of positively confirmed individuals would also be asked to shift to virtual instruction for 14 days from last exposure to the positively confirmed student within ten days of the positively confirmed individual’s first date of symptoms or positive test, whichever is first.

We recommend that the physical classroom(s) in which a positively confirmed individual remained for a cumulative total of more than 15 minutes remain closed for 2 days for deep cleaning and disinfection. Sanitation staff should wait 24 hours, when possible, before entering the affected classrooms or areas to allow viral particles to settle.

Using the list below, upon showing symptoms of COVID-19 in the list below, shift to virtual instruction for 3 days. If symptoms remain persistent for 3 days, or if symptoms worsen, shift to virtual instruction for 10 days. Parents or guardians should be conducting this assessment at home before bringing a student to school. However, this self-assessment can take place at school in classrooms at any time during the day, as well. School-based health care providers or teachers should send students home per the above recommendations if they have taken any medications (e.g, ibuprofen, Tylenol) to reduce fever in the last 24 hours.Fever or chills

• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• Loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

If 3 positive cases for students or staff in face-to-face instruction are confirmed within 1 week, we recommend the school building shift to virtual instruction for 3 days, regardless of student population size. This is due to airborne particles lingering in the air and on surfaces, viral transmission dynamics indoors, and the number of potential individuals exposed.

The duration of 3 days allows for contact tracing to take place with the individuals who have tested positive, and further allows for the potential presentation of symptoms among those who have been exposed.

The number of cases that would call for closure may be re-examined under conditions of low daily case incidence, positivity rate, low community transmission, and for those schools who are able to implement classes in cohorts.

Please note that this is a conservative mitigation strategy that is based on the increasing trends in Wisconsin and Jefferson County. Daily case incidence, percent positivity, and the rate of community transmission are key metrics that are currently high in Jefferson County, all of which increase the chances that there are additional students who are infected in the event of a positively confirmed case.

JCHD is utilizing an approach to recommending district closure based on guidance from the Harvard Global Health Institute. The level of closure and shift to virtual instruction is based on the level of COVID-19 activity associated with Daily Case Incidence as shown in the below chart.

If a school district chooses to cease in-person instruction based on the following guidelines, it is recommended they wait 7 days to ensure that the Daily Case Incidence Value has stabilized and is on the appropriate trajectory for that new risk level before returning to in-person instruction.

While a county-wide 7-day rolling average of Daily Case Incidence (per 100,000) is the key metric we are using to inform district closure and re-opening, please keep in mind that we should remain adaptable to changing conditions that go beyond this number. These metrics will be continuously monitored by JCHD and include percent positivity, community spread, contact tracing capacity and function, hospitalization rates and hospital capacity, and access to testing. Holistic issues like the mental health of school-age youth and childcare are also considered as we recognize schools to be vital to the health of our communities and the well-being of our youth. The epidemiology of COVID-19 (daily case incidence, positivity rate, community spread) in adjacent jurisdictions is also a factor that will be considered. Neighboring or nearby jurisdictions with significantly higher incidence or with increasing COVID-19 activity could affect Jefferson County, jeopardizing improvements and causing an increase in positively confirmed cases.

All of the above recommendations and guidelines are subject to change based on the state of COVID-19 in Jefferson County, adjacent jurisdictions, and Wisconsin overall. Though it is possible to safely reopen schools, the safety of students and staff should take precedence over a return to in-person instruction. While young children (aged 10 and under) have been observed to contribute to the transmission of COVID-19 relatively less than older children and adults, this is based on limited evidence. Other age groups contribute almost equally to the spread of COVID-19 based on that limited body of evidence. In addition, children are known to be infected by COVID-19, and are able to pass on the infection to others whether they show symptoms or not.

JCHD will provide continuous communication of any changes in these recommendations, which may also be affected by the release of updated state or federal guidance. If a school district feels they are unable to safely return to in-person instruction and are also unable to implement virtual instruction, they may consider delaying the start of school until either or both learning options are feasible in a safe and effective manner.