- Snohomish School District
- Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
- Physical Distancing, Cohorts & Common Spaces FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
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Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
- Sickness, COVID-19 & Close Contacts FAQs
- Attestation/Screening FAQs
- Mask/Face Covering & PPE FAQs
- Physical Distancing, Cohorts & Common Spaces FAQs
- Hand Hygiene FAQs
- Transportation FAQS
- Food Service FAQs
- Cleaning & Ventilation FAQs
- Worksite Supervisor & Staff Training FAQs
- Staffing FAQs
- General FAQs
- Instruction & Schedule FAQs
- September 2020 Back-to-School FAQs
Physical Distancing, Cohorts & Common Spaces FAQs
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What is the plan in each building for separate spaces for COVID-19 related-symptoms/illness and regular health room needs (first aid, medication, etc.)?
COVID-19 related illness will be taken to the isolation room, which is a different space from the regular health room, in each school.
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Has the district provided signage and spacing markers to help students, staff, and visitors maintain proper social distancing?
Schools and buildings have been given signage and large round distancing stickers for main office areas, one-way arrows, a large sandwich board sign, safe distancing strips, wash your hands signs, fight the spread signs, rolls of tape for interior and exterior, Velcro dots for classroom floors to mark desks, and other items which have been individually requested.
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How have typical communal areas/tools been signed and arranged to provide for at least 6-feet of distancing between employees and students?
Lunchroom/commons seating has been spaced 6-feet apart using desks and/or tables. Students will be assigned seating.
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What regulations will be in place regarding student desk/table arrangement, alternate seating (i.e. carpet time, moving of students) and directions (s) students are facing?
Desks will be spaced 6-feet apart and marked on the ground. Students will face the same direction when possible.
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How does the district plan to meet physical distancing requirements for staff and students? What is the plan for physical distancing during transitions, recess, lunch, hand washing, bathroom breaks, filling of water bottles, drop off and pick up and transportation?
As a general rule students and employees should be distanced 6-feet apart. However, there will be incremental, small amount of times that students and staff will be within six feet. Students and staff should not be closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes at a time.
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In spaces such as school offices, that may have less than 6-feet of physical distancing, how has the district provided mitigation strategies and what are they?
In some cases staff have been moved to alternate locations and in others plexiglass has been hung from the ceiling or framed and secured to the counters.
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Define a cohort.
The district and schools will create cohorts or smaller groups of students with dedicated staff who will remain together throughout the day, at recess and time. These groups will remain consistent from day to day and should not be combined or mixed. They will often be by grade level. The attempt will be to minimize mixing of cohorts during drop-off/pick-up, recess and lunch.
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Are students in a cohort or group to minimize school wide children exposure?
Yes, elementary students are grouped or in a cohort based on grade and classroom. For example, cohorts will be scheduled for recess and lunch time, as well as enter school at the start and release from school at the end of the day.
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How else will the district address the need to limit cross-mixing students and staff as much as possible? Use of cohorts/groups at elementary and secondary? Transportation patterns? Alternating schedules?
Defining cohorts, traffic patterns, scheduling for student release, loading buses has been on-going with principals utilizing safe practices guidance and protocol requirements. Staff training will include walk throughs in the building with the school principals to identify the implementation of these safe practices.
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What about school playgrounds?
Outdoor areas, such as school playgrounds, generally require normal routine cleaning. Disinfection of outside playgrounds is not necessary or recommended except in cases of biohazard contamination. Students should be given time to wash their hands both before and after outdoor play. Physical distancing of students should be maintained, and appropriate staff present at all times for supervision.
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What about water fountains?
Per health agency guidance, water fountains, including classroom bubblers, will be turned off or closed.
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In the virtual town hall the classroom set up shown was one at Little Cedars Elementary. Can other classrooms in the district accommodate this type of physical distancing?
Little Cedars Elementary was used because many of the classrooms at that school were already been set up by district facility custodial and maintenance teams. Facility custodial and maintenance teams are now working on the classrooms for all of our elementary schools so that they are ready for the late October reopening. All of our classrooms will be reconfigured so student desks are 6-feet apart. Depending on the actual square footage of the classroom, this typically means up to 20 students could be in a classroom. Given the existing class sizes at K-2, we will be able to accommodate those classes. At grades 3-12 the class sizes are larger. Because we need to maintain the 6-feet of distance, those classes would need to be in a hybrid model.
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What will an elementary classroom and lunch room look like (incorporating physical distancing)?
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What will lunch "look and feel like" in relation to in-person learning?
Students will eat lunch in the commons/gymnasium and will be kept in their cohort. Students will be spaced as far apart as possible at tables. Tables will be at least 6-feet apart.
School lunch service will be provided through grab-and-go services. Meal times may be staggered to avoid crowding. Tables will be cleaned before and after each group eats.
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Will students be physically distanced in their classroom and at lunch?
Yes, classrooms are set up so that desks are 6-feet apart between students and the teacher. Seats will be assigned so the student uses the same desk each day. Lunches are set up so that students will be 6-feet apart when they eat, and seating will be assigned so that students eat in the same spot daily.
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Will there be recess and outdoor play?
Students will be allowed to use school playgrounds, but will not be allowed to use the large equipment. Students will be allowed to play in cohorts. Students will not be required to wear masks if they can maintain proper physical distancing.
Here is a link to a great resources which provides a list of activities students could potentially participate in while social distancing - www.asphaltgreen.org/blog/rep-it-out-games-for-social-distancing.
