Important Updates on Ed Center Program, Reopening Plan, Staff Requirements, and Building Info

Ed Center Parent Q&A Michele Trettel Program Director Ed Center Programs Katie Patterson Program Coordinator Ed Center Sewickley

Ground Rules With a large number of participants, we ask that you mute your microphone and turn video off. Type questions in the chat window at the end of the presentation and we will address. Answers to questions from the Microsoft Forms are embedded in this presentation. We know there will be more questions as situations arise. We will look to schedule more Q&A sessions as things change.

Reopening Plan On main page of Watson website. Reopening committee will continue to meet weekly. Reopening committee consists of all program coordinators, Admin, Maintenance, IT, HR and nursing. Reopening plan was based on parent surveys, staff surveys, COVID cases in the area and guidance from CDC/PDE. All decisions were made with the concern of the health and safety of our students, their families and our staff. this is the best responsible reopening plan for our population of students. We feel As stated in our Reopening Plan, our Pandemic Committee will be meeting weekly to review and adjust processes, as well as review infection rates in our region and other states. Our plan is to have in person instruction as soon as possible. This may be just a few weeks or up to 9/28/2020. We appreciate your patience and trust in us during this challenging time. Parents will have the option to continue full remote instruction after 9/28/20.

Staff Requirements Instruction will look different from the Spring/ESY All Staff are required to be working with students during normal school hours 8:45-2:30. Student Instructions and Staff Responsibilities will be e-mailed to you next week that lists each disciplines responsibility for Remote Instruction and Hybrid Model. You will need to use Teacher Website and Microsoft Teams. Remote learning will include all live sessions. These will be recorded and placed on teacher website/student pages if parents are not available during live sessions. Staff will be responsible for collecting data on all goals every time they engage with a student. All IEP goals will be addressed. Mostly live 1:1 sessions with students. A few groups live sessions as well. Student schedules will be consistent each day and will be provided to you. All therapy sessions and Specials classes will be live.

Building Info Sewickley/ECS The ventilation system brings in and circulates outside air to keep things fresh. Air filters changed on a regular basis. We have a company that performs routine maintenance as well. We are getting new air conditioning units next week. ECS is a newer building and has the most up to date ventilation system. We do have an outside company come in and preform regular preventative maintenance on it. We change the filters on a regular basis as well. There are UV lights installed in the duct work to sanitize the air.

Remote Instruction Half of the staff in building Mon/Tues. Half of the staff in building Thurs/Fri. We wanted teams to be together in person for two days and for staff in the same office to be able to socially distance at their work stations. Materials can be provided and mailed home to students during remote instruction. There may be a day to pick up materials for parents at each site as well. If you do not have technology at home, please contact your school district for guidance. We will assist with this process. Remote instruction will include teacher, IAs, all therapies, social workers, behavior staff and Specials. Daily attendance will be taken during live lessons.

Blended Model (end of Sept) All staff in the building 4 days/week Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri. Deep clean will take place on Wednesday. Plan as of now is half of the students in building Mon/Tues and the other half Thurs/Fri. There will be 3-5 students in the classroom each day. Students will be split by school district. You will need to follow the days that we have your district listed. This may be different than your district s schedule. If you transport your child, you still need to follow Watson s designated days for your child to attend. Days when students are in the building, they will receive their therapies. If students are at home, staff will still be required to deliver instruction. We have the technology to stream live lessons from the classroom.

PPE All staff will have 3 masks (2 double later cloth and 1 with clear plastic to see mouth). All staff will be provided a face shield. Masks and face shields will be available for students. It is not required. If a family requests that a child wear a mask, we will have them do so. Gowns available for staff. Staff is responsible for cleaning and disinfecting their masks each day. We have masks (for staff/ not required for students, but encouraged), face shields, sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes. Hand sanitizer placed around building. Quarantine Rooms available

Building Cleaning We have new disinfecting sprayers for the entire building. This is done every day. Maintenance will be using these sprayers in the bathrooms several times a day, in addition to full daily cleaning and sanitizing in the evenings.

Health Screenings/Temp Checks All staff and students will be required to have their temperature checked before entering the building. A system will be installed at each door. If your temp is above 100.4, you will be asked to leave. All staff and students will be required to complete health screenings before entering the building. This will be e-mailed to you once a week and must be complete 24 hours before entering the building. If a student appears sick when at school, parents MUST be available to come and pick them up or have a designated caregiver available to do so. There will be quarantine rooms available for short term use until parents/caregiver can arrive. Students are then required to remain out of school for 14 days OR until they have 2 negative tests for COVID19

Safety Protocols All staff required to wear masks at all times. Students will not be required to wear masks, but it should be encouraged and incorporated into lesson planning. Lesson plans should also include hand washing for students several times throughout the day. Student desks should be arranged 6 feet apart in the classroom. Students cannot share materials. Materials must be disinfected prior to use and after by each student. No visitors in the building at this time, including parents. We will have a designated area for parents dropping off/picking up students and staff will come out to the car to get students. Staff has requested to wear scrubs and we are allowing. If a child is hesitant of someone in scrubs, please let us know and we will work with you.

Student Lunches when in Blended Model All students will eat in their classroom with their regular staff. We will provide lunch menu with 2 choices as we have in the past Students will eat in the classroom and be socially distanced One to one staffing for lunch for student requiring support with feeding skills. Staff to utilize PPE Utensils and adapted feeding materials will be sanitized and cleaned before and after each use. Disposable plates will be utilized for students not in need of adaptive equipment. Handwashing for staff and students prior to and after lunch. Staff will monitor hand washing. Students can still bring a lunch from home. We will not refrigerate or microwave items.

Other questions from Parents: Other APS are open. We chose to start remotely based on Staff surveys, Parent surveys, PDE/CDC number of COVID cases in the area. We are watching the COVID guidance and cases daily Are Students Required to Wear a Mask or Face Shield? No, but this is encouraged. Staff will work on during lessons as well. Can Watson send staff to my home? No, Staff will be in working in the building during remote and blended instruction. Hospitalization Policy? Stay home 24 hours and contact school nurse. If unrelated to COVID then student should be able to return to school. Regular Doctor s appointments? They are fine and your child can return to school as normal, unless COVID symptoms present.

Parent Questions Continued... How will transportation work? Will I have to drive my child? You will need to contact your school district regarding their transportation policy. Can my child still bring in items from homes? If they can be easily sanitized. No blankets or plush toys. Snacks are okay. Will there be trainings if parents aren't comfortable with technology? Yes, we will schedule additional trainings. How will behavioral crisis management techniques be utilized? We will follow CCM guidance on precautions around crisis situations. Any specific questions regarding your child, please e-mail us separately.

Resources https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx https://www.cdc.gov/ https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/resources/COVID- 19/Covid-19.aspx https://www.thewatsoninstitute.org/

Staff want you to know: We miss all our students and families! Safety has always been a priority and will continue to be We are here to support you. We will figure this out together!