We have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding our School Reopening Plan. We hope that you find this information helpful; we will be updating as needed.

We will continue to evaluate the most up-to-date information and make changes as appropriate. All policies and procedures are subject to change.

Have another question? Email info@cmcsmontessori.com.

Students will have scheduled virtual lesson times, synchronous class meetings, and digital resources and assignments. Students will not be required to be on a computer/device for 6-hours daily. Students will spend a portion of their day completing work independently. We understand that for some of our learners, especially our younger learners, that this might require some parental assistance at home. Teachers will be available during school hours.

CMCS Online will be a mix of recorded lessons, live lessons, and live virtual meetings in large and small group.

Students in grades 4-8 will be issued a school-based iPad. Any student opting for Distance Learning will need a device and working internet. Limited iPads will be available to check out from CMCS.

UPDATED: Pasco County Schools has pushed back the start of the school year by two weeks. The first day of school for students will be Monday, August 24th. Teachers will report on Monday, August 17th.

Again, CMCS also follows Pasco County School's calendar and school closures. This information is subject to change.

Our goal is not to change our start and end times; however, we might have to adjust arrival and dismissal times.

Also, students will be socially distanced by cohort during afternoon dismissal.

UPDATED: Yes, we will be doing temperate checks upon arrival. We will have all 4 gates open for arrival. Students will be assigned a gate to enter based on their class/grade. Temperatures will be taken at the gates during morning arrival.

For Semester 1 parents, volunteers, and visitors will not be present on campus. That will be revisited for Semester 2.

For Birthday Walks, we are looking into offering virtual options for parents.

Students WILL be required to wear masks or face coverings during both morning and afternoon Car Line, while in the classroom (at all times), while moving about the campus (i.e., walking to PE or recess), as well as during Before Care and After Care.

During lunch, recess, PE, students will take off their masks but maintain social distance. Mask breaks will also be built into the student's schedules.

Due to Superintendent Kurt Browning's current mandate (6/23/20), masks or face coverings will be required of teachers and staff on campus at CMCS. This is subject to change based on the Superintendent's rulings.

Students will also be required to wear masks while on campus.

In many school settings, students will be socially distanced by cohort to the extent possible.

At the elementary school level, where social distancing will be extremely difficult, students will spend most of the school day interacting only with students in their cohort (class group). Students in a cohort group will not be expected to stay 6 feet from one another.

Class assignments will be impacted by the number of students returning to traditional school and teacher assignments. Our goal is to keep students in current classrooms, if possible.

In Middle School, we will be social distancing by cohort will be grade-based. This means that each MS grade will be its own cohort. Sixth graders will mix only with other sixth graders. The same will happen for 7th and 8th graders. Again, students in a cohort group will not be expected to stay 6 feet from one another.

By limiting exposure to a smaller number of students, we reduce the chance of infection. And if a student becomes ill, the immediate cohort is affected, not the entire school.

Yes, we will be offering Before and After Care. Because Before and After Care will be mixing cohorts, students will potentially be required to wear masks during these times. We will also work toward implementing social distancing and/or alternative locations (i.e., outdoors) for these programs.

Students will be required to wear masks during both Before Care and After Care due to mixing of cohorts.

Teachers and assistants will clean frequently touched surfaces throughout the day. Our cleaning company will conduct overall enhanced cleanings at the conclusion of every day. Other non-custodial staff members will be expected to do their part keeping surfaces clean, and will be provided with cleaning products. Teachers will have access to cleaning supplies for their classroom.

CMCS will be hiring a full time Custodial Care Specialist who will assist with additional daily cleaning of the school as well as assisting with the clinic.

CMCS will partner with students, parents, teachers, and staff in education on the importance of hand washing, hygiene, and social distancing. Hand sanitizer will be made available in classrooms and workplaces.

All staff will receive COVID-19 training (including transmission, prevention and use of mask) with opportunity for Q & A.

Signage will be posted describing signs/symptoms, proper hand-washing, social distancing, and when to stay home.

Starting last year, we implemented social-emotional learning in all of our classrooms. We will continue to give those lessons as well as incorporate coping strategies to deal with our current pandemic and national events from the past year.

CMCS teachers will provide more frequent check-ins with students regarding their social-emotional needs. We have also partnered with a local Licensed Mental Health Counselor to help develop a plan for supporting staff, students, and families. We will be rolling out those programs at the beginning of the school year.

At this time, large in person gatherings will not be allowed 1st semester, and we will re-evaluate for 2nd semester.

Thursday, August 20th

Back to School Packet Pick Up & CMCS Online Supplies Pick Up

• All families (Traditional & CMCS Online) need to pick up their Back to School Packets on this day.

• Families will drive through the car line and identify themselves to the caller (a sign with family name would be helpful).

• Parents and students will stay in their cars and pop their trunks so that staff can distribute the Back to School Packet and supplies for CMCS Online students.

• Medications can be checked-in curbside on this day via appointment only through ParentSquare. Contact Ms. Devon (devon@cmcsmontessori.com) prior to Pick Up Day with medication questions.

• Class assignments (for those who have returned their Registration Packets) will be given on this day. Middle School schedule information will be shared on the first day of school.

• We will adhere to the following schedule on Thursday, August 20th:

9:00 - 10:00 am - Last Names A-F

10:00 - 11:00 am - Last Names G-M

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Last Names N-Z

Friday, August 21st

First Grade Orientation

• Guidelines:

• First graders will be invited on campus to meet their teachers and see their classrooms.

• Student and one (1) parent may attend. This will be a drop in event. There will be no formal presentation, program, or conferencing.

• All students and parents must wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines.

• Schedule for First Grade Orientation:

9:00-9:45 am Room 1 & Room 6

10:00-10:45 am Room 2 & Room 4

11:00-11:45 am Room 3

Friday, August 21st

Zoom Student Orientations

Teachers will be sending out information about Zoom orientation sessions for students. No students or parents will be on campus for these orientations.

12:30 pm Lower Elementary

1:15 pm Upper Elementary

2:00 pm Specials/Elective

2:45 pm Middle School Traditional by Grade

3:30 pm Middle School CMCS Online (Grades 6th-8th grades)

Parent Orientation (Thursday, September 3rd) and Assemblies will be held virtually.

We do not typically have a MS dance during the first semester. We will reevaluate for semester 2.

At this time, PE and recess will be held outside. Recess will be scheduled so that cohorts are not out at the same time. Cohorts will be given recess equipment that will not be shared. We are considering a staggered schedule for use of the playground due to the need to disinfect between cohorts.

Music will happen in the cohort's room or outdoors. Instruments will not be shared.

Art & Spanish will happen in the cohort's room or outdoors. Materials will not be shared.

• Keep in touch with teacher on a regular basis and let them know if your child is experiencing specific challenges, like grief over a family loss or heightened anxiety due to the pandemic.
• Talk to your child regularly to make sure he/she understands work expectations.
• Talk to your child regarding how they are feeling. Be patient and accept how they are feeling during this stressful time.
• Maintain a daily routine around school and schoolwork.
• Do check-ins with your child regarding academics, including checking Google Classroom and myStudent (MS students only).
  
• As you have academic check-in, make sure you do check-ins about your child emotional or mental health as well.
• Reach out to your child’s teacher or student services staff with any changes that may impact your child’s success. This way we can develop supports for your child prior to the first day of school.

CMCS is committed to providing free and appropriate educational opportunities for students with disabilities, to the greatest extent possible in alignment with public health guidelines. Collaboration with families has always been an integral part of the special education process and continues to be essential during this time. To address the unique needs of students with disabilities staff will continue the work with families to collaboratively identify the most essential services for each student that can be provided. Individual Education Plan’s (IEPs) will be reviewed for the circumstances of the learning environment that the family selects.

All students attending CMCS Online will have access to the many accommodations that naturally occur in the virtual setting. In addition, CMCS Online will provide any accommodations listed on the IEP that are applicable to the online educational environment. Please note that some accommodations may not be possible to implement in the online educational setting. The IEP team, (general education teachers, special education teachers, related services providers, and families), will work collaboratively if it is determined an accommodation is not appropriate or successful in a particular setting.

CMCS, in conjunction with Pasco County Schools, will continue to identify, locate, and evaluate students suspected of having a disability and needing special education and related services. At the same time, we will be mindful that some students have been displaced from their typical learning environment when initiating the referral process. Some evaluation procedures can be completed in remote learning situations. Some evaluations require in-person contact with students or observations of students in school settings. CMCS and Pasco County Schools are conducting evaluations remotely and in-person while adhering to public health guidelines for the safety of students and staff.

Possible COVID-19 symptoms-students who exhibit any of these symptoms during the school day must be excluded from school:

• Fever (100.4 or greater) or chills
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Congestion or runny nose
• New loss of taste/smell
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Muscle or body aches
• Fatigue
• Headache

*This list does not include all possible symptoms and will be continually updated based on CDC guidance.

According to CDC guidelines, students who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms would need to stay home for:

• At least 3 days after fever has resolved (without medication like Tylenol), AND
• All other symptoms have improved, AND
• It has been at least 10 days since the onset of symptoms

Students may return in fewer than 10 days after meeting one of these conditions:

• With verified medical documentation of alternative diagnosis as reason for symptoms, OR
• With documentation of negative COVID-19 test

There will be synchronous lesson times that students will be required to attend during school hours (8:30 am-3:00 pm), independent work time on follow up assignments, and asynchronous lessons/videos that could be done at any time. Students will not be sitting in front of a computer for 6 hours a day.

That is determined by the Health Department based on their investigations, and we will follow their guidance. We are still developing our procedures on how we will educate students if they are sent home to be quarantined.

We are currently working on a Student/Parent Agreement for CMCS Online that both the parent and student will have to sign. Students will be tested, under strict guidelines, in this platform and those assessments will be part of their grade (based on current classroom structures).

Students will be required to attend certain live lessons (between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm based on a preannounced schedule) and will be counted as absent if they do not attend.

Again, we are still developing our guidelines for this new program. More information will follow.

We are still working on our policy for this. Most likely, it will work just like students who are absent for an extended period of time during a normal school year. Teachers would work with the student to make up work during their absence. We know that students who are sick are not likely to be able to work, so teachers would adjust accordingly. Students would not be switched to CMCS Online for an absence of this length. Again, this is subject to change.

Students will be checked out curbside. We are working a system for the front office window to allow staff to take in/scan parent IDs without parents entering the school. Students would then be delivered to parents outside. Again, we are still developing our exact procedures for this.

Sudents cannot switch between traditional and online learning from day to day. It would be too difficult for planning and consistency to move back and forth in this way. We ask that parents make a choice for the semester.

With the concurrent model, there will be greater flexibility to allow students to move from home to classroom (or vice versa) without having to change teachers. This movement will be limited to 1-2 designated times within the semester and for reasons related to COVID-19.

If a student or family member becomes ill due to COVID-19 and must miss a large number of days, we will evaluate moving them from Traditional to to CMCS Online outside of those designated transition times. Transitions between educational options will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Lower Elementary - Around 20 students per class

Upper Elementary - Around 17 students per class

Middle School 6th Grade - Around 25 students

Middle School 7th Grade - Around 16 students

Middle School 8th Grade - Around 20 students

Lower Elementary - Students in Grades 1-3 will be allowed to bring backpacks and lunchboxes to school that will be stored inside the classroom. We will also have reusable plastic pouches for students to keep at school for their individual work mats and supplies. The pouches will be sent home on Fridays. We ask that parents launder the work mats and send back to school on Monday.

Upper Elementary - Students will be able to bring backpacks and lunch boxes that will be stored in the classrooms.

Middle School - Students will be able to bring backpacks and lunch boxes that will be stored in the classrooms.

The traditional classroom will operate as close to normal as possible with some exceptions. With the exception of going to recess and PE, students will stay in their classroom throughout the day. Middle school grades will go between two assigned classrooms throughout the day. Students be wearing masks and asked to stay in an assigned spot as much as possible to allow for social distancing. Students will not be sharing materials, such as pencils and erasers, this year. Montessori materials will be disinfected between use. Bathrooms and surfaces will be cleaned regularly.

Parents and students who have chosen Traditional School will be required to sign an agreement for that educational option. Some of those agreements will be that students must stay home when feeling ill/exhibiting symptoms as well as adhering to health and safety protocols.

There will be information in your Back to School Packet and teachers will be sending out information at the end of next week regarding CMCS Online. We will be utilizing Google Classroom and Zoom.

Lower Elementary Parents: Please note that we have an extremely limited supply of iPads to check out to students who have chosen CMCS Online. Since this was a choice, you are required to provide your own device for your Lower Elementary student(s). We recommend any tablet or computer with a camera. Those with the greatest need will receive priority for checking out devices.

Upper Elementary Parents: Due to a delay in shipping, we are still processing our student iPads for 4th and 5th grade CMCS Online students. They will be distributed as soon as possible. Once they are ready for distribution, we will let you know. Please be prepared to have a back up device for the start of school. We recommend any tablet or computer with a camera.

Parents and students who have chosen CMCS Online will be required to sign an agreement for that educational option. Some of those agreements will be that students must attend live virtual lessons to be counted as present for attendance as well as adhering to due dates for assignments.

CMCS Online is not the crisis distance learning that we experienced in the Spring. It is a more structured and robust program.

In elementary grades, CMCS Online students will have asynchronous Specials classes (Music, Art, PE, and Spanish) via Google Classroom. Students will receive recorded lessons and have assignments to complete at home on their own time.

For Middle School Grades, Electives will be synchronous.