GES : Return To In-Person Instruction On Jan. 4, 2022

Press release from Gladwyne Elementary School:

2022-01-03

Dear LMSD Families,

Thank you for your patience and understanding as our District staff used today to assess the impact of the current COVID-19 surge on our ability to offer in-person education to our students. The good news is that – as of now – we anticipate that all LMSD schools will be open for in-person instruction beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. While I am happy to share this information, I must also note that we are not operating in ideal conditions and several realities can impact our plan at any time. Please read through this letter for a better understanding of our current situation, what might cause us to make changes and what you can do to help.

School Staff

Every school in the District has teachers, aides and substitutes who are currently in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19. Principals are working hard and shifting staff to provide coverage and maintain all students' academic programs. In some cases, classes may be combined in large group spaces to ensure adequate supervision. In other cases, teachers may be teaching remotely while another adult provides classroom supervision. There may be delays in posting Zoom links if teachers are covering for each other. Hence, if your student is learning from home, your patience in these situations will be greatly appreciated.

If enough adults are not available to provide adequate supervision of children, a school may need to go virtual until enough staff are able to return. While we would try to notify families in advance of such an operational closure, there is always the possibility that staff members may wake up symptomatic and call in sick for that day. If this occurs to the extent that a school cannot be run safely, that school would go virtual for the day and families will be notified (similar to weather emergencies) via School Messenger email and a notification on the District website prior to 6:00 a.m.

Transportation

Numerous members of our Transportation Department are currently in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19. Additional drivers and bus aides could call out overnight or during the course of the week. This may force us to implement the plan we shared with you in November, which calls for exercising the options below, in order, depending on the severity of the staff shortage:

• Combining bus runs, which could lead to buses being delayed
• Individual route cancelations or delays. If this is implemented, families will be notified via School Messenger. Students who cannot get to school can access asynchronous work and their absence will be excused
• Virtual Day for grades 6-12. Bus transportation for elementary schools only
• Virtual Day for all students

Nutritional Services

We also have Nutritional Services staff members in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19. If your child can bring their lunch, that will assist the limited number of staff who are working to distribute lunches efficiently to those children who need them.

Virtual Instruction Option (through Jan. 14, 2022)

To facilitate our teachers' ability to plan during the next two weeks, we are asking the following:

• Students whose families opt to have them learn virtually are asked to make the decision for an entire week (no drop-in/drop-out for single days) so that teachers can properly plan for their classes.
  • You can reevaluate this decision on Jan. 7, 2022, for the week of Jan. 10, 2022.
  • If your child must learn from home due to a quarantine or isolation, they will be able to return at the end of the quarantine/isolation period, even if that falls mid-week.
• If you are opting to have your student learn from home, please do the following:
  • Use LMSD Safe Arrival system to report an absence as usual.
  • Notify each child's school (main office) that they will be participating virtually.

Students who are learning virtually and not physically in school will be marked absent, so that the school has an accurate count of who is in the building, which is necessary in case of an emergency; therefore, you will receive a robocall from the LMSD Safe Arrival system. You can disregard this call. During the day, the attendance secretaries will update the attendance system to reflect absences of students who are either learning virtually or quarantined/isolated. These absences will not count towards any truancy record-keeping.

COVID-19 Testing

At this time, LMSD has a very limited supply of Binax COVID-19 tests available. Until we receive a new supply of tests, the existing kits are prioritized for testing of individuals who become symptomatic at school. We are unable to offer after-school testing of symptomatic students or staff or after-school assurance testing this week. Anyone who is symptomatic should stay home, unless they are able to obtain a negative test elsewhere. The District is hopeful that the Montgomery County Office of Public Health (MCOPH) will be able to provide additional test kits later this week.

Use of District Facilities

Due to current staffing strains, including those on the custodial staff, all use of District facilities by outside organizations (PVJSA, MLGBA, Aquatics, etc.) is currently suspended. All school-based teams, clubs and organization activities are ongoing (with the exception of those involving teams with outbreaks, who have been notified by the Athletics and Activities Directors). Some events may be modified. For example:

• This Sunday's "Ask the Superintendent" will be on Zoom, rather than in-person at the Academy Building, at 1:00 p.m.
• The Amazing Ace competition, originally scheduled for Friday night, has been postponed until Jan. 28th. Please check the calendar on the District website for other changes.

Please know, we are evaluating many considerations every day. Thank you for doing your part – vaccinating your children, encouraging them to continue to wear their masks, screening each morning and staying home if symptomatic, and reporting positive cases to our COVID Healthline (610-645-1973 or healthservices@lmsd.org). As we all continue to work together, I am confident we can weather this surge and serve our children.

Sincerely,

Khalid N. Mumin, Ed.D.Superintendent of Schools

This press release was produced by Gladwyne Elementary School. The views expressed here are the author’s own.