San Bruno Park Reopening Planning
Special Reopening Planning Update - November 2020
Letter from the Superintendent
It has been a busy week with the election and our ongoing work planning and preparing for the return of students to our San Bruno Park campuses. Some good news is that the state of California recently eased certain restrictions in San Mateo County, moving the county into the less-restrictive orange Tier 3 in the state’s four-tier, color-coded plan for reducing COVID-19 with criteria for loosening and tightening restrictions on activities. It is essential that our community continue to wear face coverings, wash hands, practice social distancing, and take other measures to keep us all safe and minimize the risk of being returned to a more-restrictive tier.
And an election week! We are very fortunate to have three qualified candidates seeking election for our two open seats, and we look forward to the official and final results. My thanks to candidates Jennifer Blanco, Andriana Shea, and Bryan Vander Lugt for all caring enough about students and our community to seek to serve in these important positions.
Our staff has been busy preparing our schools for a safe return and we wanted to update our community on our progress below. We do not have a specific date for our return, given that there are still so many variables, but expect to have an update and present a report to our Board at the next meeting on November 18. We are also asking families to let us know - via this survey - whether they prefer to continue in distance learning or will join us at our campuses in a hybrid model. The responses to the survey will determine what hybrid model we will be able to offer.
Our challenge continues to be that we can't provide the perfect instructional model for every family and staff member in our district. We will continue to focus our resources on the health and safety of our students, staff, and community and will also continue to refine our instructional plan to allow parents some level of choice. We appreciate the flexibility of the SBPSD community and look forward to our continued collaboration that will ensure that we get through this pandemic together.
Please be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @SanBrunoParkSD to see what's happening through the week!
Sincerely,
José Espinoza
Superintendent
SCHOOL READINESS UPDATE
In order for schools in San Mateo County to reopen under the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, they must develop a reopening plan that follows the County’s Pandemic Recovery Framework, has a testing plan in place for staff, and uses an incremental approach to reopening.
As we implement our safe return to schools, we are adhering to our Responsive Reopening Model. This is being done in alignment with the County’s guidelines and the Four Pillars of the framework intended to reduce the likelihood of spread within the school setting:
- Health and Hygiene
- Face Coverings
- Physical Distancing
- Limited Gatherings
Specific actions and strategies for these areas are detailed below. We are asking families to complete this survey to tell us if they will be continuing with distance learning for the remainder of the school year, or opting for an in-person (hybrid) model. The model adopted will be based on survey results of families choosing among these options:
- Students will be on campus for the morning session, afternoon session, or both;
- Students will eat lunch on campus or at home;
- Students will be on campus two alternating days.
- Wednesday will remain as a full day of at-home learning for all students.
The survey will close on Thursday, November 12, at 8 a.m.
Furniture has been rearranged to accommodate social distancing. Supplies are being organized to reduce sharing between students. Each classroom has hand sanitizing stations as well as soap and water access to help maintain good hygiene. Common areas will also have hand sanitizing stations.
Sneeze guards will be available for all students in the next couple of weeks. Air purifiers cycling up to 2,500 square feet every hour - with our average room size being about 1,000 square feet - have been ordered for all classrooms. We expect them in 4-5 weeks.
Plexiglass barriers have been installed in all front offices. Hand sanitizing stations are available to supplement traditional soap and water hand-washing, and include contact-free dispensers. The same air purifiers on order for our classrooms will also be installed in all offices.
Maintaining clean school/class environments will be a team effort. Students will be expected to clean their areas, including wiping down their sneeze guards with a disinfecting spray and/or wipe at the end of each day. We will ask our teachers to wipe down common touch areas like door knobs throughout the day using a disinfectant. Alcohol-based wipes are already in stock to clean laptops and student devices.
We are fortunate to have a team of dedicated custodial staff who will oversee a daily, detailed cleaning protocol. This will involve daily cleaning and disinfecting of floors, counters, sinks, door knobs and other high-touch zones, among other cleanliness activities. We thank them in advance for these essential services, allowing for the safe return of our students and staff to school.
Signage has been placed throughout our school campuses to remind everyone on campus to follow social distancing guidelines, wear facial coverings, and to practice good hygiene with frequent hand washing. We also have placed directional signage at both the district office and campuses as another tool for helping deter social gatherings and so students can have an easy visual aid that shows them where they need to stop, and what a 6' separation looks like.
Staff and student volunteers have been working on creative and artistic "social distancing circles" to go on outdoor pavement. Some samples from Parkside are shown here.
Although staff and students can bring their own PPE, our schools are equipped with disposable masks and gloves in addition to the hand sanitizing stations. All teachers will be provided face shields in addition to the disposable masks.
Students will be expected to maintain and care for their individual sneeze guards; sanitizing products will be provided at individual desks but in classrooms as well.
Testing: We have contracted with a testing company that will test all our employees on a 30-day cycle. Although the state requires a 60-day cycle we will be asking all our employees to test every 30 days. We will also provide a testing option for all students and ask that parents have them tested before returning to in person instruction and on a cycle if necessary.
SBPSD will be monitoring, tracking, and reporting any confirmed cases of the coronavirus among staff, students, vendors, and contractors. More detail on this protocol will be provided in our subsequent update. Should there be a confirmed or suspected case, we will follow the steps to take in response as outlined by San Mateo County Public Health.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION
COVID-19 TESTING IN SAN MATEO COUNTY
Testing for COVID-19 is available for everyone who lives or works in San Mateo County regardless of symptoms. Call your primary care physician to make an appointment. San Mateo County has recently increased testing capacity by almost 5,000 tests per week. New appointments and testing locations are now available. Please click here to learn more and make an appointment.
The COVID-19 diagnostic test is safe, easy and at no-cost to you regardless of where you receive it (insurance may be billed when available). Getting tested and following the guidance from your doctor and from San Mateo County Health can reduce the spread of the disease in our community and protect everyone’s health. Remember to avoid gatherings of people outside your household, wear a face covering, and practice social distancing. Our comeback depends on all of us.
A reminder that the San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs continues to work hard to ensure that the community has easy access to important and updated information during this time. Their COVID-19 Resources and Services webpage offers information, resources, and materials in numerous areas, including:
- Childcare Resources
- Employee and Unemployment Resources
- Financial Resources
- Food Pantries and Meal Assistance
- Health/Mental Health Services
- Housing, Rental & Mortgage Assistance
- Utility Assistance & Resources
The State of California has also put together a COVID-19 Resource Page for California residents.
DATEBOOK
November 11, 2020
Veterans Day Holiday - NO SCHOOL
November 16 - 18, 2020
Minimum Days for Middle School Parent Conferences
November 18, 2020
Regular Meeting of the Board of Education (via Zoom)
Open Session 6:30 p.m.
Meeting meeting will be posted here.
November 25 - 27, 2020
Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL
December 9, 2020
Regular Meeting of the Board of Education (via Zoom)
Open Session 6:30 p.m.
Meeting meeting will be posted here.
Be sure to review our 2020-2021 School Year Calendar for other important dates, including holidays and non-student dates.
About Us
Email: jpeponis@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
Website: www.sbpsd.org
Location: 500 Acacia Ave, San Bruno, CA, USA
Phone: 650-624-3100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanBrunoParkSD/
Twitter: @SanBrunoParkSD