Communications and engagement

Communications and Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement:  We included administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents/guardians, local health department officials and health care providers, and employee union leaders in developing our reopening plan.  We also deployed parent/guardian and staff surveys, and we collaborated with school district leaders from throughout our region.  Upon plan adoption, we will continue to engage with parents and staff through a series of virtual forums and periodic pulse surveys. 

Plan Accessibility:  Our School Reopening Plan is posted on our district’s website (www.crcsd.org) and each school’s building-specific plan is posted on the school website.  Every effort has been made to ensure that our plan is accessible to all individuals in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level A/AA. The plan also can be translated into ten other languages using a translation application available on our website.

Communications Channels:  In an effort to share information in a timely and accurate manner, our district will utilize the following communications channels to alert our community to the plan and inform them of any modifications to our plan:

Communications Commitments:

  1. The district will provide students and their families with multiple ways to contact schools and teachers during remote learning, including telephone, email messages, virtual conferences/meetings, and mail.

  2. The district will use existing internal and external communications channels to notify staff, students and families/caregivers about in-person, remote and hybrid school schedules with as much advance notice as possible.  We will utilize our website, social media sites, and SchoolMessenger broadcasts to communicate this information.  In addition we will mail important information home to all families prior to the start of our academic year.

  3. The district will follow its existing engagement and communication protocols with parents regarding the provision of special education services for their child.

  4. In addition, the district will make every effort to ensure that communication to parents/legal guardians is in their preferred language and mode of communication.

Safety and Public Health Orientation and Training: The district is committed to ensuring that all of our students and their families are taught and re-taught new expectations related to all public health policies and protocols. These trainings will cover: 

  1. Hand hygiene

  2. Proper face covering procedures (how to wear and remove; how to sanitize)

  3. Social distancing

  4. Respiratory hygiene

  5. Identifying symptoms of COVID-19

Signage:  The district will create and deploy signage throughout the district to address public health protections surrounding COVID-19. Signage will address protocols and recommendations in the following areas:

  1. Proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

  2. Acceptable face coverings and requirements related to their wear and care

  3. Hand washing

  4. Adherence to social distancing instructions

  5. Symptoms/prevention of COVID-19

In addition to signage, the district will encourage all students, faculty, staff and visitors to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DOH guidance regarding the use of PPE and social distancing.  We will achieve this through electronic, verbal, and written reminders.

Privacy: The district is committed to creating a learning environment that protects student and staff health, safety and privacy. Our district will operate under a standard procedure for addressing situations in which an individual has tested positive for COVID-19 or appears symptomatic. These procedures are outlined in the Health & Safety section of our reopening plan.

In the event that a student or staff member is sick or symptomatic, notification to exposed individuals will occur pursuant to the state’s contact tracing protocols as implemented by the local health department. The district will not notify the wider community unless specifically directed to do so by local public health officials.

Communications Regarding Future School Closures:  The district is prepared for situations in which one or more school buildings need to close due to a significant number of students or staff testing positive for COVID-19 or a considerable regional increase in COVID-19 cases.

The district may choose to modify operations in one or more schools prior to closing to help mitigate a rise in cases. The district will consult with local public health officials and our Medical Director/Physician when making such decisions. 

School building administrators will communicate with each other regularly and, if needed, will consider closing school if absentee rates impact the ability of the school to operate safely.

We will communicate any/all school closures using our website, social media channels, and our SchoolMessenger mass notification system.