Students to return to Pine Plains schools four days a week

PINE PLAINS — Pine Plains Central School District (PPCSD) administrators brought families up to speed on the upcoming transition to a four-day in-person instruction model in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, at two virtual presentations on Wednesday, March 24. Classes will restart in the flesh on Monday, April 5.

The public had two opportunities to view the Zoom presentation live online at www.ppcsd.org, at 3:30 and 7 p.m. Superintendent of Schools Martin Handler said the presentations were held after a lot of positive feedback came from parents and staff prior to reopening schools last fall. 

Responding to the question “Why now?” he said even though the New York State Department of Health (DOH) hasn’t changed its guidance, the DOH has essentially “kicked the ball back” to county health departments. Handler said the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health reported Dutchess County’s COVID-19 infection rate is low and all county school districts are doing “very aggressive” mitigation efforts with “virtually no infections taking place in schools.”

After reviewing its plans, the county said that if the PPCSD continues its mitigation measures, it could operate with social distancing of less than 6 feet. Additionally, Handler said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance and now a minimum of 3 feet of distance in elementary schools and 6 feet of distance in secondary schools is acceptable, unless staff are teaching in small groups. 

School physician Karl Heymann reviewed the guidance from the CDC, the Dutchess County DOH and the World Health Organization and reviewed the district’s plan before giving it his approval. Handler confirmed the district will be social distancing a minimum of 3 feet, and more if possible.

Regarding mitigation measures, Handler reported all students will wear masks at all times; they will be given 5-minute mask breaks, but won’t be allowed to congregate during those breaks. Students must also walk on the right-hand side of the hallway between classes. 

When students return from spring break on Monday, April 5, the district will start doing surveillance testing. Handler explained that the surveillance tests aren’t for the students and staff who are showing symptoms, but will instead be used to identify anyone who is asymptomatic who may have the virus. The district will be testing 10% of the students whose parents have given consent, adding parents have the ability to change that consent and will be notified if their child has been selected for testing.

The PPCSD’s ventilation has also been improved with fully functioning unit ventilators in every single classroom. Classroom doors will be left open to bring in additional air and box fans have been purchased for all of the classrooms.

Handler emphasized the district will rely on parents for information to keep everyone safe.

“First of all, it’s going to be more important than ever for every single parent to be the health screener for their child every day,” he said. “We depend on that information and that really forces the parents to consider whether or not their child should go to school.”

Wednesdays will continue to be taught as remote days for cleaning purposes. They will also allow teachers to do additional planning for their live stream classes and to reach out to students who are fully remote who may be struggling.

One by one, the building principals shared the highlights of what the four-day in-person model will look like at their respective schools.

Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School

Though there will be few changes to the operating procedures at Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School, Principal Tara Grieb said there will be one locker between students and one person allowed in the bathroom at a time in group bathrooms. Masks and hand washing will continue to be enforced and locker rooms won’t be used at all. Additional seats have been added in the cafeterias and large Plexiglas barriers have been installed on some of the tables to allow more seating.

Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center

For the band students at her school and at Stissing Mountain, Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center Principal Julie Roberts said they’ve purchased special masks with flaps that will allow most of the brass and wind instruments to slip the mouthpiece in while enclosing everything else behind the masks. Along with keeping 6 feet of distance between students in the cafeteria using desks, she said they’ve recently received a new cleaning product whose research shows less a chance of infection by surface contact. The product has already been applied to the desks in the cafeteria and will soon be applied to all high-touch surfaces in the school building and playground surfaces.

Cold Spring Early Learning Center

While they’re maintaining 4 feet or greater distances in each classroom, Cold Spring Early Learning Center Principal Gian Starr said there are a few areas throughout the building where it’s more difficult to do so — mainly the computer lab and library — though plastic dividers have been installed. Students will be permitted to use outdoor equipment, washing their hands before and after recess. An additional eating area has been set up in the music room to allow more distance in the cafeteria, and additional ventilation has been brought into the building.

“When the district’s Reentry Task Force set out on this, we wanted to make sure that the structure that we built was able to pivot from remote to hybrid to in-person without really impacting student schedules or programs or teacher programs,” Director of Curriculum and Instruction Brian Timm said before opening the presentation for questions, “so that’s something we’re pretty proud of.”

The presentations can now be viewed in full at the online, at www.ppcsd.org.