WHSD: What To Expect For Fall 2020 (FAQ)

Press release from the Woodland Hills Private School:

22 May 2020

Elementary Division FAQ

We have heard from families with a variety of questions about what to expect when school resumes in fall. While of course we are subject to any orders from government and health officials, here are some FAQs based on what we know at this time.

Q. Will WHPS resume in-person classes on August 17?

We plan to be back to regular school at that time.

Q. What does LAUSD's delayed reopening mean for WHPS?

We expect to be on our normal schedule of 5 full days/week. As a small private school with lots of room for outdoor learning and strict health and safety guidelines, we expect to remain open.

Q. Normally the afternoon includes specialist classes: Spanish, Music, Art, PE, Science/Social Studies, Barnyard, Computers. Will these classes still happen?

Yes. The current health/safety guidelines state that it is okay for specialist teachers to come to the classroom. This means that students will still get all specialist classes, but they may not go to the Art Studio, Computer Lab, etc. This is to avoid having multiple Class Family Groups cycle through a shared learning space.

Q. What about after school classes like Mandarin, Team Sports, Robotics, Art, Drama, Cooking, Speech & Debate, etc.?

These classes are temporarily on hold. Because the current guidelines and best practices suggest keeping students in static groups and not mixing, after school classes are temporarily suspended until we are able to mix or combine groups. We plan to bring these classes back as soon as it's safe.

Q. What should parents and students expect this fall?

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some changes we anticipate:

Face Coverings - REQUIRED FOR EVERYONE ON CAMPUS (We have been open since June 1 for our summer program, and the kids are doing great with masks. Parents, please get your child accustomed to wearing it now, don't wait for August.)

Class Family Groups - A static group of students with one teacher. The children in each group will learn, eat, play and have specialist classes together but may not physically mingle with others on campus. With the current restrictions on group size, the average class size will be limited to approximately 15 students (TK-1st) and 16 students (2nd-5th).

Outdoor Learning Spaces - We know that COVID-19 is much less likely to spread outdoors. In preparation for fall, we are adding additional sheltered outdoor learning spaces so we can comfortably host classes outdoors as much as possible. 4th and 5th grade classes are moving out of the elementary building into portable classrooms that are fully heated/cooled but can be open-air on nice days.

Visitor Restrictions - Health officials currently recommend that parents use rolling drop off and do not get out of their vehicles at school.

Physical Distancing

Scheduled Hand Washing (and of course as needed)

Temperature & Symptom Screening - Anyone coming on campus will be screened for a fever or symptoms.

Sick Policy - Anyone coming on campus must be symptom free (fever, diarrhea, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose) for 72 hours. Out of an abundance of caution, staff/students will need to go home immediately if symptoms occur at school.

COVID-19 Testing - We strongly encourage all families, students and staff to get tested before returning to school and to follow all public health guidelines. When we come back to school, it is important to protect the health and safety of everyone in our Class Family Group.

Q. I saw that when WHPS reopens in June the hours are 8am-5pm. Will you go back to 7am-6pm in the fall?

We hope to be back to regular hours as soon as possible. We know families rely on us for childcare, and will will do everything we can to get back to 7-6 as soon as possible.

PLEASE NOTE: Because the current guidelines and best practices suggest keeping students in static groups and not mixing, extended care (after the 3:15 grade period) is only for families with critical need. From 3:15-4pm, homeroom teachers will stay with any remaining children. However, this is also the time for teachers to clean/sanitize and make parent calls and Zooms. From 4-5pm, any still remaining children will go into mixed extended care groups outdoors with strict physical distancing. We really appreciate parents understanding and making every effort to pick up by 3:15 if possible.

Q. Who will my child’s teacher(s) be? Can I meet the teacher(s)?

We will be looking at each child’s learning profile, social-emotional strengths and peer group and placing children where we believe they will find the greatest success and enjoyment.

Because of this, families may not have as much choice in which class their child enters. If you have a special request or certain peers you hope can be in your child's Class Family Group, please let us know.

In July, we will share class placement information with families, and we will do our best to be sensitive to your preferences.

Your child's teacher will hold Virtual Intake Conferences with every family August 12-14. Sign ups will be sent out two weeks prior.

Q. What if there is another temporary closure next year?

The Class Family Group structure and preventative measures we are putting in place should help us prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the school community. The procedures we now have in place are based on the guidelines for childcare centers that stayed open during April-May.

If we do have a temporary closure next year, it may only impact one classroom or certain classrooms.

If there is a shift to Distance Learning, the remote school day will closely resemble the regular school day. Math and language arts will be taught live by homeroom teachers and specialist classes will be taught live at their normal times. Classes will be archived in the cloud in case a child is not able to attend that day.

Q. What else should I know?

Here is our current COVID-19 Protection Plan.

This press release was produced by the Woodland Hills Private School. The views expressed are the author's own.