Hickman County Schools

BOARD MEMBERS

MARTIE TEMPLETON, Chairman THOMAS DODSON, Vice Chairman CALEB DEWEESE
SHANNON DOWDY MATT HICKS

CASEY HENDERSON, Superintendent 416 Waterfield Drive North Clinton, KY 42031

KIM WILSON District Finance Officer

HEATHER SPILLMAN Director of Transportation
Director of Assessment/Instruction

CHRISTEL NALL Preschool Coordinator
Director of District Wide Services

PERRY COLLINS Director of Pupil Personnel
Safe Schools Coordinator

Hickman County Schools Operational Plan for 2021-2022

The Hickman County School District Operational Plan has been developed with both daily operational and instructional strategies that are subject to change as the school year proceeds. This plan has incorporated with the state and regional health officials as well as our local board of education. We are all driven to provide the best educational experiences for our students this fall.

Our main focus is always providing a safe & secure environment for our students and staff members. Hickman County Schools have considered every available health and safety measure to make sure that students and staff are safe in all school activities. We will keep you updated on this evolving plan if changes are required. Within this plan, the CDC and the Kentucky Department of Public Health have provided safety recommendations that schools must follow (Social Distancing, Cloth Face Coverings, Screening/School Exclusion, Sanitation/Environmental Factors, and Contact Tracing). The guidance document can be found on the following link: Guidance for K-12 School Operations for In-Person Learning.

Safety Recommendations that are implemented as determined by the CDC and the Kentucky Department of Public Health

1.	Social Distancing
•	Schools will make every attempt to provide at least 3 feet of space between students to in classrooms, cafeterias, etc. Seating charts will be maintained in order to assist with contact tracing and quarantining.
•	Reasonable attempts will be made at the school to reduce congestion in the classroom and in common areas.
•	Food service will utilize the cafeteria, outdoor areas and the occasional classroom to provide meals to the students in a safe environment. Schedules will be developed to provide opportunities in each of these areas throughout the school year.
•	Schools will limit non-essential visitors on school property.

2.	Cloth Face Coverings, Personal Protective Equipment and School Health Policies
Face masks prohibit spread of the virus even when the infected person is without symptoms:
•	Per the CDC and the Kentucky Department for Public Heath, it is recommended that everyone two years old and above wear a cloth face covering, unless medically waivered. We very strongly encourage following this guidance however it will not be mandatory that masks be worn on school premises at this time.
•	According to health officials in general, people do not need wear masks outdoors.

3.	Screening and School Exclusion
•	Parents should make sure that student(s) have no signs or symptoms of illness prior to sending them to school.
•	 If a student shows at least one symptom (fever, chills, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, new cough, new loss of taste or smell or gastrointestinal symptoms), the student may be isolated immediately until the parent can pick up the child. The parents will be encouraged to notify their health care provider for further guidance and possible testing for COVID-19.
• A student sent home with COVID-19 symptoms who has a negative COVID-19 test or the symptoms have subsided may return to school once they are fever-free (without fever reducing medication) for 48 hours and have no other COVID-19 related symptoms(fever, chills, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, new cough, new loss of taste or smell or gastrointestinal symptoms). Examples of student exclusion criteria are included in the following website. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools-faq.html

(270) 653-2341	AN EQUAL EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT AGENCY	FAX (270) 653-6007

4.	Sanitation and Environmental Standards
•	As always, proper hand washing and respiratory hygiene practices (covering coughs and sneezes) will be taught and emphasized to students. Hand sanitizer will also be encouraged throughout the school day.
•	Daily cleaning and disinfection of school facilities will follow KDE and the Kentucky Department of Public Heath guidance.

5.	Contact Tracing
•	Hickman County Schools will be notified by the local health department of any positive cases of COVID-19 and be prepared to cooperate with the contact tracing investigation with manifests of bus transportation, classroom cohorts, cafeteria setting charts,etc.,that willallowquick identificationofthose at highrisk of infection from the positive COVID-19 student/staff. Quicklyinitiatinga 10 dayquarantine ofthese at risk individuals is our best defense against furtherspreadoftheviralillness. The Kentucky Department of Public Health will determine if students/staff are quarantined and for how long the quarantine will last.

6.	Transportation Plan (includes sanitation, screening & social distancing)
•	Parents are asked to check students for COVID symptoms before leaving for school each day.
•	Per the CDC and the Kentucky Department of Public Heath, wearing a mask while riding the bus is a federal requirement unless medically waivered.
•	The bus will load back to front—unload front to back.
•	Assign seating for all passengers/ Seat students from same household together/ Preschool will sit at front.
•	Students with medical concerns, allergies, asthma should be assigned seating at front of bus with windows up. •	Maintain social distancing (6 feet apart) at bus stops.
•      Parents are encouraged to limit the number of pick up/drop off locations that students will need through the school year. •      Parent and bus pickup will be located in the same places as last year at the elementary. Parent drop off at the high school
will be done in front of the school. Parents please do not exit your vehicle during drop off.
•	If you have to pick up a child early from school or drop off late due to an appointment, please call the respective school and someone will escort your child out to you or come outside and accept the child from you when returning to school.

To provide additional instructional options for families, the Hickman County School District has increased the availability of online/virtual instruction to all students this year. This method will allow students to receive computer based instruction while not attending in-person. If you now want online/virtual learning, please contact the Hickman County Board of Education at (270)653-2341 and speak with Mr. Perry Collins. He will set up a meeting to discuss your preferred option.

Sincerely,

Casey Henderson, Superintendent Hickman County Schools