Knights Ferry first public school district in Stanislaus to get OK for TK-6 return
The Knights Ferry Elementary School District on Wednesday became the first public school district in Stanislaus County to have its reopening plan for TK-6 in-person education approved.
The one-school district has students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade, but the waiver approves bringing back only the 122 enrolled up through sixth grade.
“We are going to start with all allowable grades, but in a hybrid model with the exception of our kindergarten students,” Knights Ferry Superintendent and Principal Janet Skulina said in an email to The Bee on Thursday afternoon. “Our kindergarten class is very small and we will be operating that class daily.
“Grades 1-6 will be split due to size, age and the logistics of practicing social distancing throughout the day. We will have all students meet with their teacher online on Mondays and then the groups of students have been split in half or as near to half as possible and they will rotate either Tuesday/Thursday or Wednesday/Friday.”
Eight other public school districts within the county have submitted waiver applications that are awaiting approval: Oakdale, Paradise, Roberts Ferry, Shiloh, Chatom, Gratton, Hickman and Valley Home. Nine private schools already have received approval, and most if not all have returned students to campus in small, stable learning cohorts. A 10th private school, Hughson Christian, has an application pending OK.
The district’s reopening plan says students would return no sooner than Monday, Sept. 28. “Our board will ultimately determine that final date,” Skulina said.
Among safety measures in the plan are that desks will be spaced, face the same direction, be wiped down twice daily and thoroughly cleaned at the end of each day.
Tissues, sinks and soap are in all classrooms, and sanitizer is in all instructional areas. Drinking fountains have been turned off.
Cohorts will range from an expected size of seven children to a maximum of 12.
A rotational schedule will have students eating their lunches in their classrooms, outside and in the cafeteria, depending on the day. Specific play areas also have been designated for each cohort on a rotating schedule.
Disposable masks are available for kids and staff who do not have their own, and face shields are available for staff who need to work in close proximity to students, such as during assessments.
Health screenings include staff being required to self-check their temperature at home each morning. Staff also will take the temperatures of students before allowing them in classrooms.
Students also will be monitored daily for upper-respiratory symptoms.
Skulina early this month told The Bee that the district’s ability to test staff and students was a great concern. “This is NOT an educational responsibility and should clearly rest with the Department of Public Health,” she said in an email. “This has been an upsetting issue for all the districts and certainly for KFESD as we have no capacity to test staff and students.”
In her email Thursday, she said, “As an educator, I have no experience in accessing tests or testing protocols. I have been vocal about my concerns in the meetings with Public Health and other superintendents. However, in a desire to open schools, and to not hold schools back that are ready to open, Stanislaus County Public Health and the SCOE (Stanislaus County Office of Education) are continuing to work together to coordinate the testing effort.
“We will be able to utilize the testing sites currently operating in Modesto, Turlock and Salida. All staff will be tested over a period of two months or as it works out, half the staff will be tested one month, and half the other month. It works out to 2-3 people per week. My staff has not raised any objections to this, although none of us want to do the testing and undoubtedly it will be inconvenient and probably unpleasant. That this has been coordinated through the Public Health office has greatly eased my concerns, and although the scheduling could be disruptive to the educational day, it’s now become just something we have to do rather than an overwhelming problem to be solved.”
The Knights Ferry waiver application says Skulina or a designee will oversee quick and safe removal of any staff or students who show symptoms of the virus. A classroom cohort will cease in-person instruction in the event of a confirmed case within the group, the plan says. All students and staff in the cohort will switch to distance learning and be quarantined.
The superintendent said she’s looking forward to opening but a bit nervous to be leading the way. She added, “I am heartened by comments from parents such as: ‘So excited for the kids to be able to meet their classmates and teachers; with hard work by everyone, we will be able to do this safely’ ... and ‘KFS is a very unique and special place! Let’s show the rest of the county and state how they too can open schools for our kids.’”
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 1:50 PM.
