Shelby County Today

July 25, 2020 - Dear Parents,

Timpson ISD is actively monitoring the situation involving COVID-19 and is currently making plans to reopen schools. However, TISD is making the decision to delay the school start date from August 13th to August 19th. We have had some local cases of COVID-19 and are aware that the situation in Texas and the Nation is not improving. We also realize that some parents and others are expecting for school to open as soon as possible.

We have conducted surveys to assess the numbers of students who wish to participate in on-line learning and the numbers who plan to attend on-campus instruction. So far, we do have a fairly large percentage who are planning to use remote learning. The district has ordered several hundred chrome books and has assessed our current device availability. The TISD technology department is working to address connectivity issues that some students may have or have in the future. It is very important for all students to be able to engage in on-line learning as the possibility of a mass school closure seems possible at some later date.

All three school campuses will be reaching out to parents with a phone call beginning Monday of next week. We will be asking about your plans regarding whether you will be sending your child to on-campus instruction or engaging in remote learning. We will be asking about connectivity concerns to give us information about how to do our best to resolve issues. If you have not received a call before Thursday of next week, please contact your campus or the central office of TISD so that we can get the important information we need about your plans. 936-254-2463.

When school begins we will be conducting screenings for temperature and other symptoms of COVID-19 for all staff and students. We have been and will continue to follow information from the State of Texas and local health authorities regarding how to detect possible cases of the virus. Each campus has prepared an extensive plan involving detailed protocols for the flow of students during the school day. Additionally, the transportation department has developed a plan for the safest possible transportation of students to and from school. The TISD cafeteria department has developed protocols as well.

Instruction

Students must select the mode of instruction he or she is planning to receive. Once this selection is made, the student must use this mode for the entire first grading period or six-weeks. Remote instruction will require that students check in and engage in on-line learning every day. On-line learners must work with teachers on a daily basis to be considered on a pathway to credit. Otherwise, the student will be counted absent.

We will attempt to resolve any connectivity issues as quickly as possible but parents must realize that some issues may be related to connectivity in your area. We must remind everyone that you must have internet availability in your area to engage in on-line learning.

Please, know that this on-line process and the process of on-campus instruction may be interrupted during the school year. The current pandemic will dictate much of how the school year proceeds. Our goal is to have all students “remote ready” in case there is mass closure.

Face Masks

Schools fall under the Governor’s order to wear facial coverings in areas where social distancing cannot be ensured. We will be following these guidelines at TISD. We will have more information about locations and age groups in the following days and weeks. We do know that we will be requiring facial coverings during bus transportation and other areas of the school campus where social distancing is not possible. TISD does have the right to ensure that facial coverings adhere to appropriate dress code procedures in terms of how they are used, effectiveness, and messaging.

Transportation

We are also asking that, if possible, parents should bring their children to school because bus transportation is one of the most difficult areas to provide a safe experience. We will be adjusting the flow of students into and from buses and addressing how students exit the buildings once they arrive at school.

Meals

Students attending on-campus instruction will not be allowed to receive outside meal deliveries during the school day. They may bring a lunch but, TISD will not be accepting deliveries from parents or others as this is another potential exposure risk.

Safety procedures will be in place for students traveling to, at lunch or breakfast, and from the cafeteria.

There will be no cash back provided during payment for meals. Parents are strongly urged to utilize our “Lunch Money Now” program.

There will be specific guidelines about how lunch will be conducted according to proper social distancing requirements.

Discipline

Disciplinary issues will not be tolerated for students participating in on-campus instruction. The district will not spend time with an unruly child during these difficult times. You will simply be placed in remote learning for the duration of the six weeks until you learn to comply with the safety procedures of TISD.

Extracurricular Activities and Sports

Sponsors and coaches are developing and will continue to develop safety protocol for extracurricular activities. Only students who are engaged in on-campus learning will be permitted to participate in these activities. Coaches will be utilizing the UIL and other guidelines for scheduling practices and events for their respective sports.There will be protocol for visitors to games and social distancing requirements involved for all spectators. We are also postponing the purchase of reserved seating for the upcoming football season.

Concerns

Please contact the school if you have concerns related to the information in this memo. Understand that this information could change rapidly because of changes in the pandemic situation or changes in State or local rulings. (936 254 2463) This is a very fluid situation from the start date of school to procedures for safety enacted by the district of TISD. We cannot guarantee that the disease will not be transmitted at TISD but, we are taking every precaution to attempt to minimize the risk.

Screenings: Students who display symptoms of COVID 19 or who have been exposed to the virus should not attempt any form of on-campus activity. This includes if you have a close family member who has tested positive for COVID and you have been in contact with that family member or if you have been at an event or gathering where people have tested positive. Remember asymptomatic people can transmit the virus. 

 

Specific Department Protocol

Timpson High School

Upon arrival to school students will enter end hallway door by the science building

After entering the building, they will have temperature checked and then be moved to the auditorium where social distancing will be maintained. Band students will report to the band hall where protocol will be in place.

Students will wear masks during transitions and in classrooms where social distancing cannot be ensured and unless we are able to have enough clear barriers to ensure separation.

Classes will be taught with the doors open as much as possible to help with air circulation.

Students will wipe down their desk areas before leaving class.

Once students exit the buildings and are outside they may remove their face coverings traveling in between the high school and collegiate center as long as they maintain social distancing requirements. We will have staff to help ensure social distancing is maintained.

Any student with a temperature exceeding 100.0 or shows any signs or symptoms of COVID 19 will be sent to the counselor’s office and maintained there until he or she is picked up by the nurse or parent.

At lunch, Girl athletes will go through the lunch line and then to the Event Center to eat lunch. All other students will have different areas to eat lunch. Some of these will be outside as weather permits.

Bathroom breaks will be monitored to control the number of students. Preferably, students will go to the restroom from class and not during the break.

If available, each student will be given his or her own bottle of hand sanitizer and dispensers have been put up at every entrance into the building. Other areas will also have sanitizer.

Water fountains will not be available and students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles with a screw on lid that they can personally use. There will not be sharing of water bottles allowed under any circumstance.

Locker stops will be quick stops to get what you need and will be disinfected throughout the day.

All trash will be placed in trash cans as this is an obvious precaution and should always be practiced.

Standing in groups and socializing will not be permitted, even small groups.

Middle School 

1) No lockers will be assigned or used
2) No water fountains will be accessible: Water may be brought to school only in a clear water bottle container with a screw on tops.
3) Social distancing is to be practiced at all times.
4) Frequent hand sanitization shall be practiced.
5) Students who are having issues conforming to school guidelines may be placed into remote learning at any time.
6) Entrances: Entrance will only be allowed in 3 doors, screening will begin at 7:15 each morning at each door. 6th grade will enter the back hall door of the 6th grade hall.

7th grade will enter through the cafeteria door, and 8th graders will enter the main entrance. A teacher will screen for temperature. A temperature above 100 degrees will be quarantined and removed to the nurse station for parental pickup. Screened students will proceed to their homeroom, waiting for 1st period to start.

All teachers, staff, and visitors will enter through the main entrance to be screened daily, before contacting students. Teachers on duty to screen students will be screened by one another, screening teachers will be on a rotation basis.

7) Mask and face shields
a. Mask or face shields, must be worn at all times when in secure environments. Mask/face shields will be required for all teachers, staff, and students. 

8) Students who transition Halls will be divided to allow for one-way flow to and from assigned areas. Students shall keep social distancing when walking in transition. Facemask or shields must be worn. No restroom breaks will be permitted in transition times.

9) Classroom/Instruction
a. Timpson Middle School will offer 2 types of classroom instruction, In-person and remote. Choice is made on a 6 weeks grading period. Administration may move a student to remote at any time.

b. In-person instruction- students will attend daily in class with teacher, instruction will be delivered traditionally. Clear desk-top dividers will be provided for classroom instruction. Students may be permitted to remove face masks while at desk and behind the barriers.

Teachers will be permitted to remove face mask while keeping social distancing, but must cover prior to breaking 6 feet of a student. Students will be expected to wipe down their working areas before and after class. Teachers will be responsible for the wiping down of door handles and facings.

c. Remote learning - Students will receive synchronized instruction from their assigned teacher. Students will be expected to connect remotely daily. Students must be connected within the first 5 minutes of class, or if unable to connect, contact the teacher or school. Contact can be made by calling the secretary, email teacher, or letting someone in the district know that a connection can’t be made.

Students will be held to the same standards as in-person students. Students will be expected to be in dress code and set-complete in a way that others can view only the student. All distracting activity during remote learning will be addressed. Recording of remote instruction is prohibited. Teachers will record and archive lessons for resources and for remediation. All assigned work must be completed and return it as instructed by teachers.

10) Rest rooms
Restrooms will be closed during transition periods. Restroom breaks will be assigned to teachers to allow for restroom breaks. Emergency situations will be addressed on individual basis.

Timpson Elementary
Students arriving at school will enter into the cafeteria and get their breakfast and go to their assigned classroom. Staffs’ temperature will be taken when they arrive. Teachers and aides will enter the second door, students will enter the first door. Teachers and Aides will monitor the spacing of students as they enter the building and monitor students in the hall to make sure they are going to where they are supposed to be.

Kindergarten will remain in the cafeteria to eat breakfast. PreK will go to their assigned classroom until they go to the cafeteria for breakfast. All class and hallway procedures will be enforced during breakfast. Trash cans will be placed in the halls for students to throw away trash. Teachers will be in charge of their classes and will enforce all procedures. Students will not be allowed to leave the classroom by themselves.

Any student who is sick when arriving (throwing up, running a fever, coughing, congestion, listless, and/or any socially accepted signs of sickness) will be sent to the nurse and parents will be called to pick up the student. Students should not be medicated when sent to school, except for doctor prescribed medication.

Parents will not be allowed to enter the school, except at the office to see Mrs. Searcy or the principal. Parents that are picking up sick students will let the office know and the student will be brought to the office. Parents will not be allowed to eat breakfast or lunch with students. All parent/teacher conferences will be held at the principals’ office. If possible try to handle issues over the phone or email, if not call and set up a meeting (it may take a little while to get scheduled due to the situation).

If money is needed to be paid to the cafeteria, parents will leave an envelope with the money at the office and it will be given to the cafeteria. Restroom breaks will be on a schedule by class and grade, no students will leave the classroom on their own. Teachers will take class to the restroom and ensure that only 2 students are in the restroom at a time, students are social distancing in the hall, and following restroom procedures at all times. Restroom schedule will not have 2 classes scheduled at the same time.

If a student is feeling sick, teachers will send the student to the hallway and contact the nurse, office, or principal immediately. Nurse, office, or principal will come to the class and take the student to an appropriate location. We do not want sick students roaming the hall.

Teachers will be given spray bottles with disinfectant and rag to clean all surfaces when leaving a room, changing stations, or contact between students and/or students. Masks will be worn when in close contact with people like the hallway to change classes, go to PE, lunch, recess, computer lab, reading lab, math lab, dyslexia lab, or breakfast (just a few examples). Masks are to be worn at all times in the hallway. Social distancing will be practiced every time it is possible. I’m searching for face shields for teachers to wear. They can stay on all the time if teachers want and they will at least be able to have facial contact with students.

Pre-K and Kindergarten will eat lunch everyday in the cafeteria. Each class will sit at their own table. 1st grade will eat in the cafeteria on Mondays, 2nd grade on Tuesdays, 3rd grade on Wednesdays, 4th grade on Thursdays, and 5th grade on Fridays. On days they don’t eat in the cafeteria, they will eat in their classroom. All class and hallway procedures will be enforced during lunch. Trash cans will be placed in the halls for students to throw away trash. Teachers will be in charge of their classes ( in the class and the cafeteria) and will enforce all procedures.

Once a student leaves the cafeteria they can not return. Teachers will contact the office or principal to retrieve items left in the cafeteria. Teacher will check the cafeteria before leaving to ensure nothing is left.

Grades Pre-K through 5th will be self-contained this year to reduce the contact of teachers and other students. Grades and classes will maintain social distance. While in the cafeteria, the person in charge of the students need to make sure the students are
maintaining the correct social distance and remaining in their assigned area. PE needs to be outside when weather allows.Social distancing needs to be enforced by teachers. We have the football field and the track that we can use. Two classes per grade will go to PE with one staying in. We will rotate that class everyday. Every grade will do this.

Recess can use the football field if not being used by PE. Social distancing needs to be enforced by teachers. Teachers will carry radios to recess or make sure they have their phones to make sure that they can be reached. Teachers do not send students to get the radios. They will call the office and we will get them to you. Water fountains will be turned off. Students will be able to bring water bottles from home. They are not allowed to share them with other students for any reasons. Teachers will ensure that water bottles are not being shared.

Teachers will leave their classroom doors open and window open( slightly) to allow fresh air to flow into the classroom. The AC will stay on, at least to late fall. Teachers preference. During parent pick up we will have the students spaced out on the sidewalk. We will use radios to coordinate sending students to their cars.

Discipline issues will not be tolerated. Teachers and administration do not have time to handle noncompliance issues. Teachers will be informed to send students to the office as soon as they become a disciplinary issue. Students who display disciplinary issues will be placed in remote learning status.

Transportation and Buses

Bus procedure recommendations for 2020 school year; drivers and students will follow rules and regulations established by the state and district while operating or riding a school bus:

Drivers -

• Mask and/or face shields must be worn while on or operating a bus, or in transportation buildings.
• No contact with students, i.e. high fives, hugs, etc. unless emergency situation arises, medical, discipline
• Help sanitize and clean buses daily to maintain the buses to be safe as possible

 Students -

• Mask must be worn upon entering and exiting the bus, students will not be allowed on the buses without face covering
• As much as possible we will leave an empty seat between students and have two students in each seat
• Assigned seats will be mandatory at all times/ family groups will sit together if possible
• One suggestion by several schools is load students from rear to front and offload from front to rear, eliminating students from crossing past each other, this would however require a central drop off point in the mornings

Buses -

• Hand sanitizer stations will be on all buses
• Leave certain amount of windows down on all buses to establish and maintain air flow and air exchange
• Sanitize buses daily with proper disinfectant, supplied by district
• Designate first two seats for students that may get sick on buses, have them removed first at arrival at school, isolate and examine student

Band

2020-2021 Timpson Band Return to School Topics: Extracurricular Activities, Practices/Rehearsals
 
These are the plans for returning to the band. Any district policies that are established will be added to these guidelines. These rehearsals/events are in accordance with the recently issued UIL, state, and local guidelines (https://www.uiltexas.org/music/covid-19-information). Upon daily/weekly review, the schedule will be altered depending on regulations.
 
 
The following precautions will be taken: 

• Any students that have traveled outside the country, or exhibiting any symptoms are NOT allowed to attend any rehearsals.
• Student temperatures will be checked upon entrance into the band hall. Students’ temperatures that do not exceed 100.0 degrees will be allowed entrance into the facility. Others will be allowed to “cool down” in a designated area (in front of the gym, covered area) for at least 2 minutes, if temperature doesn’t drop students will be sent to the main check-in point.
• Limited amount of students/teachers will be allowed in each area of the band hall. Depending on the rehearsal area, students are only allowed to enter and exit through the same designated door each rehearsal. We will aim to have most rehearsals/sectionals in the open/outdoors.
• Full band rehearsal options:  Outside rehearsals (each student has their own lyre that will their music while standing). *Several locations will be considered in factoring in outside rehearsals (e.g. shaded areas, etc.).*
• According to UIL standards, students will wear mask-shields while not playing their instruments.
• No sharing of music/instruments/pencils/stands.
• During indoor rehearsals students will maintain the required distance between persons and areas will be measured as well as clearly marked.
• Once students engage in outside rehearsals, the required distance and amount of persons regulations will be enforced.
• At the conclusion of each rehearsal the area will be cleared, so that directors can sanitize/disinfect the area for a minimum of 30 minutes (time will be reduced during regular school rehearsals).
• Directors will monitor guidelines/regulations daily and adjust the schedule as needed. 

The following travel precautions will be taken into consideration:   

• If a busing system is not district acceptable in allowing “social distancing,” several options will be reviewed for away game performances (e.g. leadership/pep band only, sending drumline only, or no away game performances.) 
• To minimize the amount of persons on a bus, contests travel will be subject to band members that are performing directly in the competition drill (i.e. no alternates, etc.)