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Amphitheater Unified School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion/religious beliefs, gender, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, creed, citizenship status, marital status, political beliefs/affiliation, disability, home language, family, social or cultural background in its programs or activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth
groups. Inquiries regarding the District’s non-discrimination policies are handled at 701 W. Wetmore Road, Tucson, Arizona 85705 by David Rucker, Equity & Safety Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator, (520) 696-5164, [email protected], or Kristin McGraw, Executive Director of Student Services, (520) 696-5230, [email protected]. February 5, 2021
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As I am sure many families are aware, the health metrics for the COVID-19 virus in Pima County improved to the extent that the Pima County Health Department has approved for in person instruction to take place through a Hybrid Model. Therefore, Walker Elementary School will return to school via a Hybrid Learning Model starting Monday, February 15th. We wanted to send a reminder about the structure of Hybrid learning
and the campus procedures that have been implemented to ensure the safety and health of students and staff.
Hybrid Learning Model
When school returns February 15th, the district will be utilizing a hybrid model for instruction based on the directions of the Pima County Health Department which has stated that the current metrics for COVID-19 indicate that hybrid models for instruction are only safe at this time. The hybrid model that will be used by the elementary schools in the Amphitheater School District will divide students into one of two cohorts, cohort 1 or cohort 2. Students will continue to be assigned to the cohort they were in during the second quarter, when we were originally in Hybrid Learning. Be sure to contact your child’s teacher is you are unsure of your child’s cohort assignment.
Cohort 1 : In person Monday and Thursday
Cohort 2: In person Tuesday and Friday
Christopher Trimble
Principal
1750 W Rollercoaster Rd, Tucson, AZ 85704 (520) 696-6518 FAX (520) 696-6555
GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS
SUPERINTENDENT
Todd A. Jaeger, J.D.
701 W. Wetmore Road Tucson, AZ 85705 (520) 696-5000 www.amphi.com Susan Zibrat Deanna M. Day, M.Ed. Scott K. Baker, Ph.D. Vicki Cox Golder Matthew A. Kopec
The schedule for hybrid learning during the week will be:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Chort 1 In-Person Learning at Walker Remote Learning Remote Learning for all students (Early Release Day at 12:15pm) In-Person Learning at Walker Remote Learning Cohort 2 Remote Learning In-Person Learning at Walker Remote Learning In-Person Learning at Walker
In-Person Learning: In person learning will operate as a normal in-person day. Students will have Reading and Writing Blocks, Math Block, Social Studies, Science, and Specials. Students will take part in all specials, PE, Art, Music, and Computer Lab, over the course of two weeks. One week they will have PE and Music and the other they will have Art and Computer Lab. For the time being, students will not go to the library for library time. Books will be brought to the classroom for students to check out.
Remote Learning (Except Wednesday): During these days, students will be completing the online learning programs, i-Ready or Waterford depending on their grade level, and will be assigned additional work through Google Classroom or SeeSaw. Teachers will be checking in with remote students over ZOOM once a day. Teachers will let students know what time this check in will occur.
Wednesday Online Learning From Home: Wednesday will be an early release day for students and will operate similarly to the Tuesday schedule during the first quarter. Teachers will conduct at least one live ZOOM session during the day, which provides the opportunity for live instruction and for the class to operate as a whole group. Students will also complete the online learning programs, i-Ready or Waterford depending on their grade level, and will be assigned additional work through Google Classroom or SeeSaw.
Updated School Procedures and Health and Safety Information
Amphitheater Public School has created a Health and Safety Rules Handbook for students. Please take the time to review this document, which can be found at:
https://www.amphi.com/cms/lib/AZ01901095/Centricity/Domain/4596/Student%20Handbook%208.13.20%20 MITIGATION%20PLAN%20FINAL.pdf
In order to ensure that sharing of materials is limited and to increase the effectiveness of our safety procedures, it is recommended that students have the following each day:
A water bottle with their name clearly written on it. Headphones
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)/Health and Safety
Masks will be required for all students and staff when on campus or a district bus.
Students will wash their hands regularly throughout the day. This includes washing hands anytime
they enter a classroom and when they go to lunch.
Parents will be responsible for determining their child’s health status prior to coming to school each day. A checklist of symptoms to monitor for parents has been provided in the Student Health and Safety Handbook.
The use of drinking fountains will be limited. All students should bring a water bottle with them each day.
Student temperatures will be taken each morning as students enter the campus.
Contact Limiting
Visitors, including parents, guardians, and volunteers, will not be permitted on campus beyond the front office.
All parent meetings will be held via ZOOM or over the phone.
Social distancing will be followed as much as possible throughout the day in hallways, class lines, etc…
Seating in classrooms will be physically distanced to the extent possible given the size of the classroom and the number of students in class.
Large events, including open houses, fall festival, movie nights, and academic nights will be postponed until further notice.
Students will remain in grade level cohorts throughout the day. Only one grade level will have recess in a given area at a time and only one grade level will be in the cafeteria at a time.
Sharing of students materials will be limited as much as possible. Items that must be shared will be disinfected prior to use. Students are strongly encouraged to bring their own headphones, water bottles, and other school related items each day.
Drinking fountains will only be available to fill water bottles. Students will not be able to drink directly from them. Please be sure that your child has a water bottle each day with their name on it.
Lunch and Breakfast
Breakfast will still be available to Walker students. Breakfast will be brought to classrooms in the morning for students to eat in the classroom.
One grade will eat at a time in the cafeteria. Students will be spaced at least 6 feet when eating.
All students will wash their hands in their classrooms or at the mobile handwashing station prior to entering the cafeteria.
All school provided lunches will be placed at a table prior to the student entering the cafeteria. Students that buy lunch will take a seat at one of these spots as soon as they enter the cafeteria. Students that bring lunch will take an open available seat.
Students will enter the cafeteria and take the furthest open seat possible and fill towards the entrance doors. Students will be dismissed one at time in opposite order to throw away their trash and line up outside of the cafeteria when it is time to dismiss.
Tables will be disinfected by the cafeteria staff between grade levels.
If students do not wish to purchase and drink a school milk, they will need to bring a water bottle.
Transportation
Masks will be required of any student that uses a district bus or contracted bus.
Students will sit no more than two to a seat and will be seated moving from the back of the bus to the front.
Select windows will be opened on the bus to increase ventilation.
Buses will be sanitized after the morning and afternoon routes.
Bus passes may be distributed to manage the enrollment in transportation services.
Arrival at School Before School Starts
Arrival can begin each morning at 7:15am. Please do not drop your child off before this time. All students will proceed directly to their classroom in the morning. There will not be any morning recess at this time. Parents are encouraged to drop their children off at school after 7:30am if possible.
Students will be able to enter the school in one of two ways in the morning. Students riding the bus will enter through the bus gate, which will be monitored by at least two staff members. Students will exit one bus at a time to encourage social distancing.
Students that do not ride the bus will need to enter the school through the west gate. Students will need to be dropped off in the car pick up/drop off line. DO NOT DROP STUDENTS OFF IN THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL. THEY WILL HAVE TO WALK TO THE WEST GATE TO ENTER. There will be at least two adults monitoring this gate. Parents will not be allowed to enter the school grounds with their child.
Gate monitors will ensure that all students are wearing a mask before they enter the school grounds and their temperature will be checked before entering.
Additional adults will be present at each gate to take Kindergarten and first grade students to their appropriate classroom. Other adults will help guide older students to their classroom.
Changes have been made in order to ensure that there is a safe flow of cars through the parking lot. Cars may only enter the parking lot through the south eastern entrance. Cars may only exit through the northwestern exit.
Late Arrivals
Students that arrive any time after 7:52am will need to be brought to the front office by a parent or guardian. There will be a sign in sheet that the parent must sign outside the office and then the student will be let on to campus.
Dismissal at the End of the Day
Dismissal will be staggered at the end of the day in order to reduce the number of students exiting the building. Dismissal will begin with fifth grade and will end with our kindergarten students.
Students will dismiss in one of three areas. Students who ride the bus home will exit the grounds through the bus gate and will immediately board their assigned bus.
Students that will be in the after school care program through AlphaBest will be dropped off at the program door and will immediately enter and begin following the program procedures.
All other students will be picked up at the west side of the building. Students will leave through the west gate and will line up in their grade level line.
Parents should remain in their cars to pick their child/ren. Parents may not walk up to the gate to meet their child/ren as there will not sufficient space for parents to wait in this area.
Parents will be given signs that can be displayed in the car window to indicate who they are picking up. Students will be called to one of 6 different cones to be picked up by their parent, based on their parent’s position in the car line.
Students that are picked up by a local childcare facility will be picked up on the west side of the building.
As in the morning, cars may only enter the parking lot through the southeastern entrance. Cars may only exit through the northwestern exit. Please do not park along Roller Coaster Rd.
Pick Up During School Hours
As with any other school year, parents are strongly encouraged to do whatever they can to not pick up their students during school hours.
Parents should call the office when they are on their way to the school to notify them that they will be picking up their child/ren.
Parents will sign their child out inside the office and then wait outside for them.
Students will exit the building through office.
Parents picking up an ill child will follow the same procedures, however, they do not need to call the office ahead of time.
School Parking Lot Map and Guidelines for Entering and Exiting the Parking Lot
Health Office
The health office has been expanded to have a “Sick Room” and “Non-illness Services Room”.
The “Sick Room will only be used by students that visit the health office due to feeling ill or having symptoms of illness. This includes a fever, chills, muscle or body aches, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, nausea, headache, stomach ache, diarrhea, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing that is not related to asthma. Students with a sore throat, congestion, runny nose, or cough, that is not related to allergies, will report to this room as well. Our health assistant will immediately assess a student’s symptoms and notify a parent. Additional barriers are in place in the sick room in order to separate students.
The “Non-Illness Services Room” will be used by students that take medication at school or have a non-illness related need.
We thank you for taking the time to review this letter. Please be aware that we will be reviewing our procedures continuously and making adjustments as necessary to ensure that we are providing the safest environment possible for our students. We are very excited to have students returning to campus once again. Sincerely,
Christopher Trimble Principal
