We are currently working with YMCA and Spark to determine the feasibility of providing before and after school care in select schools. In addition, we are working with the YMCA regarding the possibility of providing off-site before and after school programming. Their protocols for safety and wellness will follow the Naugatuck Public Schools guidelines outlined in this plan.

Passengers should load into the bus from the back row to the front (where the first passengers onto the bus sit in the back row). Students will sit in assigned seats based on the bus route. This will reduce the number of people passengers walk by as they get off the bus.

Busses will run at full capacity, minus those who opted for distance learning (about 30%) during a low level of risk for grades K-8 and at ½ half capacity for grades 9-12. If our risk status is upgraded to moderate, bus capacity for all grades will be lowered.

Yes. Even with before and after care or after school club, the same thing would occur. It means there may be wait time before getting into a room.

If there is a confirmed case of COVID 19 in school, the local Health Department, Nursing Supervisor, and Assistant Superintendent will be notified. There is a mandatory 14-day quarantine for the sick person and a 14-day quarantine for close contacts including siblings.

Siblings will be in quarantine for a total of 24 days if they never develop symptoms.

In a low-level status, it is not recommended by the CDC to take students’ temperatures upon arrival, and students are not required to submit to a health screening, according to CDC guidelines. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we are asking all parents to complete a daily questionnaire prior to sending their child to school. Depending on the public health scenario at the time, the district is prepared to initiate a more rigorous health assessment survey that will ask if students have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, are exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19, or have traveled out of state or out of the country. The district will adapt its survey to guidance from the state and the CDC. 

All faculty and staff members will submit a COVID-19 daily health screening via Google Form before reporting to work each day.

1. Keep the child out of school for at least 10 days after symptoms of COVID began.  Call your physician and discuss if testing is recommended. If your child gets tested (not a rapid test) and the test is positive, please notify the nurse. Your child must stay home at least 10 days, monitor symptoms, and contact tracing will begin. Symptoms must improve prior to returning to school. Your child must be fever-free for 48 hours without fever-reducing medications and other symptoms must be resolving.

   or

2. Get your child tested for COVID. The acceptable type of testing to return to school prior to the 10-day self-isolation is a negative PCR-viral test or a NAAT-viral test (not a Rapid Test). If you get a negative COVID test, your child must be out for 48 hours and symptoms resolving. Your school nurse can provide locations where the correct viral tests are being performed. Please call your school nurse prior to going to get tested! 

**You must provide the results to the school nurse prior to sending your child back to school. 

or

3. Get a doctor’s note for an excluded/sick child to return to school for any non-COVID illness, such as a bacterial infection or other illness with a medical diagnosis (not just symptoms) from your child’s physician. The medical diagnosis is required per Addendum #5.

 **You must provide the note to the school nurse prior to sending your child back to school.   

The confidentiality of student and employee records, including but not limited to HIPAA privacy rights, is a priority of the Naugatuck Public Schools. NPS will safeguard the privacy of all students and employees. The team who is responsible for safeguarding the safety of students and employees will maintain the confidentiality of all.

If a student and/or staff member is confirmed to have COVID-19, other students and staff will be informed of their possible exposure, while maintaining confidentiality required by HIPAA and ADA.

In a low level status, students are not required to submit to a health screening, according to CDC guidelines. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we are asking all parents to complete a daily questionnaire prior to sending their  child to school.  Depending on the public health scenario at the time, the district is prepared to initiate a more rigorous health assessment survey.

Students who are attending school in-person will be responsible for missed work as usual. They can coordinate that with their classroom teachers. There is not a virtual learning option for students who are absent a day or a few days.

If a student is going to be absent for an extended period of time (over two weeks) and is capable of doing work from home, then a student may need to transition to distance learning. These situations can be addressed with the assistance of the building administrator.

The curriculum will continue to be executed as written. The Scope and Sequence of each curricula will be examined and adjusted according to how best to sequence the learning and respond to any gaps that have occurred during distance learning. We remain steadfast in our commitment to equity, and in maintaining the highest quality of education for each and every student in our district. This means adhering to our guiding principles and never wavering in our efforts to provide opportunity and access for all, our commitment to eradicate the opportunity gap, and our belief that every child can achieve our high expectations, as expressed in our NPS Competencies, and Vision of the Graduate regardless of time and place. 

They are not. NPS will supply individual student supplies.

Learning opportunities will be provided to families on various half-days at the beginning of the school year. These days will be planned using feedback from surveys. 

Yes. If there is a student in your child's classroom who has a life-threatening allergy, foods containing that allergen will not be allowed in that classroom. You will receive a letter from your school nurse if a specific food/foods are not allowed.

• All of our dairy products are pasteurized – meaning they have been heat-treated to significantly reduce pathogenic bacteria in the milk.

• Harmful bacteria takes time to grow to levels that could cause illness. The science and the supporting regulatory requirements allow food establishments to have potentially hazardous food out of temperature control for a maximum of 4 hours between 70F – 135F and up to 6 hours below 70F – 40F.  The food code now calls these “potentially hazardous foods” Time/Temperature control for safety foods because both time and temperature collectively are a factor in bacterial growth.

• Sodexo food safety policies require our operations to control for the temperature of the food throughout the establishment from receiving, through preparation, to serving. Temperatures are taken and recorded to ensure our food is not temperature abused. Sodexo only purchases food from suppliers with verified food safety programs that meet our high standards of safety.

• Sodexo food safety policies have written procedures on using time instead of temperature to control bacterial growth.

• Food sent home with students will include safe handling procedures. The safe food handling procedures will include a statement to refrigerate or consume products within 2 hours (Regulatory allows up to 4 hours and we are reducing that time to take a more conservative approach). 

Yes.

Yes, this is recommended.

They would have a hot and cold option, but maybe not as many options as if they were in school.

There is a waiver that only allows parents and guardians to pick up meals for a child. 

The district will actively monitor staff and student attendance in all status levels - low, moderate and high. Virtual or in-person attendance for students will be taken daily using Powerschool.  If a child is going to be absent, parents will follow the normal attendance protocols. 

Yes, all students will be required to wear a mask.

Yes, all adults will be wearing masks, with exceptions for medical reasons or while teaching so long as they are properly socially distancing or remaining static behind a physical barrier.

No. A face shield is not a sufficient alternative to the wearing of face masks, but rather both should be worn for additional protection. Face shields protect the eyes, nose, and mouth from contamination from respiratory droplets, along with masks or respirators.

Yes, for anyone who has a medical reason, making it unsafe to wear a face covering, masks should not be required.  Students and employees must submit documentation to the School Nurse and direct supervisor from a licensed MD/DO/NP attesting that the medical condition prevents them from having the ability to wear a mask safely.

All children will be required to wear masks while they are in school buildings.

Schools will be scheduling regular mask breaks throughout the day. 

A cloth or disposable face covering that covers the nose and mouth will be required.  Masks must follow Naugatuck Public School’s dress code, which prohibits Clothing which prints vulgarities, promotes illegal activity, displays pictures, words, or links to websites that advertise or imply drugs, alcohol or weapons, or displays discriminatory words or gestures. You can read more details about our mask guidelines here: Face Mask Guidelines for NPS students

Yes. All students, faculty, and staff will be provided with a cloth face mask at the start of the school year. Naugatuck Public Schools is prepared to provide a mask to any student or staff member who does not have one, or whose mask becomes unusable. The masks will be available in the school buildings, Central Office, and on the buses.

Based on state guidelines, field trips are prohibited until further notice.  In addition, if there is a field day, it will be virtual for all students and not held in-person.

Please email your school secretary or principal to let them know about the change.

Students who opt to participate in distance learning may participate in extracurricular activities.  Students choosing to do so will need to follow all of the safety measures required for in-person attendance when required by the activity (face covering, hand washing, social distancing).

In order to run two concurrent models effectively, we ask that families who choose online learning from home commit to staying online for the trimester (K-8) or marking period (9-12).  

This will depend on how many students enroll in distance learning and what teachers are available.

The district is currently exploring various approaches to virtual learning during the hybrid which may include cameras and microphones focused on the instructor in classrooms, completion of tasks, and assignments from in-person learning with virtual support from staff.

We will do our best to accommodate these needs. If there are special concerns about which group your child ends up in, please contact your school directly and they will try to work with you.

The reason behind the Mon/Wed Tues/Thurs schedule is so that the students don't go as long without seeing their teachers in-person. In addition, The schools will be deep cleaned throughout the day and every night.

We will begin by splitting the classes alphabetically, but also take into account keeping siblings in the same group and other special considerations.

Yes, the district compiled “lessons learned” using staff reflection/feedback and survey data from multiple stakeholder groups.  This information was used to design this year’s distance learning plan. When the state of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Education alerts the district of a change in status to high, the district will initiate its online learning plan. Students will have Chromebooks at home and school-based teams will assist families with accessing the Internet. Students will continue to learn in the Google Classroom they have been using and accessing in an effort to provide for a more seamless transition. Central Office and principals will deploy staff in accordance with the district’s Distance Learning Plan.

Classes will have all of the desks and tables necessary for each child in the class, even during a hybrid.

Students will not be allowed to share or bring in personal toys. Classroom and student materials such as Chromebooks, tablets, manipulatives, pencil boxes etc. will be disinfected daily by classroom staff using disinfectant wipes.

The CSDE released Interim Guidance for Decision-Making Regarding the Use of In-Person, Hybrid (Blended), or Remote Learning Models in Connecticut Schools during COVID-19 on 7.28.20.  The determination of when districts will move from one level to another or from one plan to the next will come from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and State Department of Education. While local districts may have some input into the decision-making process, the decision to move between plans is not a local decision. Moving from one plan to the next (i.e. going from full-opening to a hybrid or full distance learning) will be based on the ongoing monitoring and assessment of transmission data throughout communities, regions, and the state. At this time, DPH and CSDE are still working to establish the metrics for moving from one plan to the next. Once established, the metrics and information will be shared with all stakeholders and will become a part of this plan.

This is a possibility.

That’s a school-level decision, but part of the plan is to identify traffic flow and traffic plans to mitigate exposure.

We will have stickers on the floors to mark places for students to wait for the bathroom, marking 6’ apart in the hallways, etc.

The determination of when districts will move from one level to another or from one plan to the next will come from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and State Department of Education.

The distance learning for students with special education services, will have a plan based on the state’s opportunity plan. Students will receive the same services, but the services might look different. This will be captured on the distance learning opportunity plans that we make with families. 

Currently, we will be holding PPT’s virtually unless a parent needs an accommodation.  We are bound by IDEA timelines and will comply with those timelines.  For students that are participating virtually, we will ask that they come in person to be tested.  If this is not possible, teams will work together with families to make an alternative plan.

We will continue to follow student’s IEP’s and provide special education services in the child’s least restrictive environment, per their IEP.  Scheduling will be thoughtful to reduce the mixture of cohorts to the extent possible.  Special education teams will communicate with families regarding individual students.

During a hybrid model, efforts will be made to provide special education and related services during in person learning, unless a student’s team (in collaboration with the family) decides otherwise.

Physicals shall be accepted at the BoE during regular business hours until the first day of school. Once school starts, you should call your school nurse to make arrangements to drop it off if you prefer. No visitors are allowed in our buildings, but the nurses or a secretary can meet you outside the building if needed.

They may also be mailed directly to the School Nurse at the school where your child is attending.

Yes.

Please contact your child's school directly to find out if they need any supplies.

Trimester 1 ends Nov. 29 for grades K-8, assuming no changes to the calendar.  Quarter 1 ends Nov. 2 for high school students.

Yes.