FAQ

As of today, CSD is planning to return to school in-person, five days a week with specific health and safety protocols and guidelines in place.

In response to parents needing a virtual experience for their child due to health conditions and a growing desire among parents for a virtual option, we plan to offer a virtual at-home learning experience for families to consider as well. More information about education options for the 2020-2021 school year can be found here.

The current model allows for families to select in-person OR virtual. Yes, we broached a hybrid option with the Board, albeit briefly. We are exploring options that would allow us to pivot from our current model to a hybrid or if an order to close forces us all to go remote, a hybrid that would allow phasing back to a full in-person or our proposed model.

We have adjusted the plans/options so that families/students can select an option by quarter (9-12) or semester (4K-8).  At the end of the first quarter/semester, students/families can choose to return to in person at their assigned school or remain in the virtual option until the end of the next quarter/semester.  This commitment supports consistency in student learning and maintains appropriate staffing levels across both educational options. More details on each school's learning plans can be found here.

Both in-person and at-home 4K-12 students attend during the scheduled school day. However, because of the asynchronous nature of Virtual Learning content, students may have some flexibility on when they access specific content areas/assignments. Classroom instruction is delivered in-person with a blend of direct instruction, small group instruction, and student application time. At-home instruction is delivered virtually, both synchronously and asynchronously. Daily interaction with the teacher is expected.

Whether at-home learning is synchronous (live) and/or asynchronous (recorded, viewed at a different time), we are committed to providing students in the "At-Home" environment increased synchronous experiences. Further details will be provided once we have the number of students opting for in-person vs. at-home learning from the Learning Environment Selection process from Quarter 1. We are currently planning for dedicated virtual learning "At-Home" instructors who will have the time dedicated to providing more synchronous instruction and connections with students. Thus, schools will soon be determining how to manage each grade/course as the selection of in-person and at-home is determined.

The placement of student desks and tables along with in-class instructional groupings of students will be evaluated by classroom teachers in order to maintain physical distance among students to the greatest extent possible. See images of example classrooms in the following FAQs.

Yes. The district will provide parents with an opportunity after the Learning Environment Selection window closes, to adjust their first response. Those families who would like to change their response after August 7th will have another opportunity during a "change period" planned for August 14th-21st. By this time period, additional information will be available on school schedules and routines.

Our goal is to provide a quality educational experience for all students whether virtual or in person. The current staffing for both the virtual and in-person options are based on the initial parent choices. Any student movement from one environment to another would create an imbalance and disrupt the learning experiences of other students.

In order to provide the most appropriate staffing to serve all students, switching from one environment to another has to wait until the quarter for 9-12 and semester for 4K-8 students. Until that time, every effort will be made to ensure your child has a quality learning experience. If there is a health condition or other significant change in your family's circumstances creating difficulties with the current environment, a change could be considered, but there is no guarantee such a change can be made.

The Virtual Learning teacher will collaborate with In-Person teachers to create opportunities for both groups of students as they work through the curriculum. We believe this added opportunity for discourse will enrich the learning experience for all students. As an example: A 3rd-grade At-Home teacher + In-School teacher may be teaching the same math lesson where students will be given an opportunity to intersect through a math challenge discussion. Intentional planning and coordination could avail both groups of students the chance to discuss potential solutions through a small-group experience.

At this time, there has been no consideration given to hiring teachers for remote instruction. All of the preliminary discussions have assumed current Cedarburg teachers would provide remote learning opportunities for students. It is too soon to say what any remote teaching assignments will look like. It is entirely possible a "Remote Teacher" may need to teach more than one grade level. Many schools utilize multi-age classrooms in the regular brick and mortar environment so it certainly is a possibility for remote learning situations.

Currently, the district is looking into securing dedicated building substitutes.

Every reasonable effort is being made to make sure students and staff are as safe as possible. Every situation is unique and will be handled with the highest discretion according to applicable laws such as the ADA and FMLA.

Classrooms: All desks and other frequently-touched areas within the classroom will be cleaned after each class period (middle and high schools) prior to the arrival of the next group of students.

Scheduled cleanings of desks and other frequently-touched areas will occur in all elementary classrooms multiple times throughout the day at regular intervals.  

All classrooms will be sanitized and disinfected every evening. 

Deep cleaning will occur weekly and classrooms will be treated with the UV light on a weekly rotational basis.

Common Use Areas: All common use areas will be cleaned and sanitized after use, treated with the UV light on a nightly basis and all commonly-touched surfaces/frequent touchpoints will be treated with the Pro-Texus/Clorox 360 unit throughout the day. 

Building Offices: All offices will be cleaned and sanitized on a nightly basis and plexiglass barriers will be placed in the main offices of all school buildings.

Restrooms: All staff, student and health room bathrooms will be cleaned, sanitized and treated periodically throughout the day and the UV light will be applied on a nightly basis.

Lunchroom Guidelines: Unique to each school, seating capacity and social distancing enforced as reasonable.

Health Rooms: Any isolation room associated with the health room used to house students/staff suffering from cold/flu/COVID-19 symptoms will be cleaned, sanitized and treated with the UV light in between each use, including all furnishings and equipment. Health room personnel will be provided with necessary cleaning/disinfecting supplies in which to carry out this recurring task.

Physical Education Equipment/Weight Room: All materials used during PE class will be cleaned/disinfected after each class. PE classes will be modified to maximize social distancing. Weight room equipment will be placed 6 ft. apart and immediately cleaned after each use as well as sanitized every night. Any use of the locker room for changing needs will be staggered among participants. Hand sanitizer will be available and every participant will be expected to use upon entry and exit.

Playground Equipment: Playground equipment/high-touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars and railings, will be cleaned between group usage. Posters will be placed at each school playground reminding both staff and students the importance of social distancing.

Cleaning Personnel: Additional COVID-19 cleaning crews will be dedicated for sanitization and cleaning efforts at each school. Playgrounds, cafeterias, classrooms (unoccupied), washrooms, high contact areas, and any other areas of concern.

Sanitation Equipment & Materials Used District-wide

• UV Mobile Room Sanitizers (5)
• HVAC installed UV lights
• Clorox Total 360 Electrostatic Sprayers (6)
• Protexus sprayers (5)
• Plexiglass
• Crowd control devices
• Handwashing stations (12)
• Hand sanitizer stations

UltraViolet Lights
UV rays have the shortest wavelength, and therefore the highest energy. They are capable of killing bacteria, viruses and pathogens by deactivating their DNA and destroying their ability to multiply, thus killing them.

Mobile UV Room Sanitizers (10)
Portable UltraViolet germicidal irradiation capable of being in any space and disinfecting any surface.

• Bacteria is unable to reproduce and infect if UV treated.
• 100% effective on any surface.

HVAC Installed UV Lights
Fixed UltraViolet germicidal irradiation installed in air handling units designed for circulating air throughout buildings.

• All air handling units are equipped with UV light banks.
• All circulating air is treated by UV light providing a single pass kill.
• ASHRAE standard is between 6?10 air exchanges per classroom, per hour.

Clorox Total 360 Electrostatic Sprayers (6)
Electrostatic disinfectant wide-area fogger.

• Kills 99.9% of bacteria in 5 seconds.
• System uses 65% less solution and is 75% faster.
• Total Clorox Disinfectant

Protexus Electrostatic Sprayers (5)
Handheld portable, battery powered disinfecting sprayer.

• Cleans 3x more surfaces compared to normal cleaning.
• System uses 68% less solution, 81% faster w/ Purtabs Solution.

Plexiglass Barriers

• Consistent with CDC component of exposure control.
• Barriers block respiratory droplets.
• Supports social distancing efforts.

Handwashing Stations (12)

• Consistent with CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of pathogens.
• Allows hand hygiene before the entrance to facility.

Hand Sanitizer Stations

• Best alternative to handwashing stations.
• Easy, fast and a variety of locations throughout facilities.

Crowd Control Devices
Maintain CDC guideline of 6 feet physical distancing materials, COVID spreads by close contact with others.

At this time there is no plan to have students assist with cleaning. Students WILL NOT be cleaning desks, that is completed by our maintenance crew.   The Building & Grounds crew uses the 3M System of products in disinfecting our school buildings. One of the cleaning products that is used is called Quat spray. In addition, the cleaning of classrooms and desks will take place when the students are not in the classroom. 

Unique to each school, seating capacity and social distancing enforced as reasonable and social distancing practices will be in place, to the extent possible, while eating. 

• The number of lunch periods, locations and the number of students eating at one time may be adjusted to increase social distancing.
• Special considerations and accommodations will continue to be made for students with different dietary needs and allergies. 
• Sharing of personal items and food items will be prohibited.
• Sanitization will occur between lunch periods, and as necessary.

Various approaches will be taken with meal serving to increase sanitation and reduce the amount of shared contact. 

• More packaged items instead of shared serving choices. 
• Changes to the menu options.  
• The elimination of a shared touch keypad for entering student ID numbers and move to a cashless checkout.
• Disposable utensils will continue to be used along with commercial-grade cleaning of trays after each use.

Recess Expectations

• Social distancing is to take place as much as possible.
• Wear a mask when students are outside AND social distancing cannot be maintained, ex. when students are congregating.
• Students may choose to wear a mask at all times.
• When using playground equipment, students may be placed in cohort groups in order to minimize contact with other students.
• Additional recess time may be provided throughout the day to provide “mask breaks”.
• Posters will be placed at each school playground reminding both staff and students the importance of social distancing.

 

Elementary School Learning & Safety Plans

 

 

Webster's School Learning & Safety Plan

 

 

CHS Learning & Safety Plans

 

All CSD staff and students will be required to wear a cloth face covering when inside any school building at the start of the 2020-21 school year. This will remain in effect until the state-issued mandate expires, at which point the Cedarburg School District will then put into place the updated face-covering requirement guidelines that were approved by the School Board on October 28, 2020. Please take a moment to review this CSD Face Covering Fact Sheet with your student, prior to the start of school, regarding cloth face coverings and healthy practices. We've outlined some key factors to consider when choosing a cloth face covering for your student.

If a staff member or student tests positive for COVID-19, that individual will not be allowed to return to school until the following three criteria are met:

• He or she is fever free for 24 hours AND
• He or she is symptoms free for 24 hours though depending upon symptom remaining may return as long as improvement has occurred (decided on a case by case basis) AND
• At least 10 days have passed since the start of symptom onset.

Contact tracing, which is the process of determining who had close contact with the person diagnosed with COVID-19, will be performed with all positive cases. Close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of the person diagnosed with COVID-19 for at least 15 cumulative minutes, 48 hours prior to the affected individual’s symptom onset. Any individual that was exposed to the affected individual, or is deemed a close contact, will have to complete 14 days of quarantine before being allowed to return to school or work. Even if the exposed individual tests negative prior to the end of the 14 day quarantine period, he or she will not be allowed to return until the full 14 day period due to the incubation period for COVID-19 is believed to extend to 14 days.

In all cases, the Cedarburg School District will work closely with the Ozaukee Washington Public Health Department and follow the guidance provided by the CDC and Department of Health Services whenever a positive case arises.

At this time the answer is no. Only the exposed individual needs to quarantine at home, whether that is CSD staff or student.

The WOPHD defines a close contact as: Being within approximately 6 feet of a COVID-19 case (someone who has tested positive for COVID-19) for a combined 15 minutes or more through a day (24 hours), or direct physical contact with a COVID-19 case (someone who has tested positive for COVID-19).

Whenever a positive case is reported to any school, a letter will be sent out to all the school families identifying the classroom in which the case was reported.

In the case of an asymptomatic individual testing positive for COVID-19, and he or she continues to remain asymptomatic, that individual would be allowed to return to school or work 10 days after the positive test result was confirmed.

We have been in constant contact with the WOPHD and have had plenty of conversations on a threshold to close schools. From the conversations, it is clear that each situation will be unique. The WOPHD recommends not setting a hard number but rather base the decision on a more interactive process that is more qualitative. For example, we may have to quarantine a group of students or a class where there are a number of positive cases, but yet we can still allow school to occur. Working with the WOPHD will allow us to make informed decisions on the best options for mitigating the spread of the virus. We are watching and learning from what schools are experiencing around the US, which should help us develop a better decision matrix.

It is possible to be infected with the coronavirus and have a cough or other symptoms with no fever, or a very low-grade one, especially in the first few days. Not every person that contracts COVID-19 will present with a fever. It is possible that one may only exhibit mild symptoms such as nasal congestion or a sore throat, and is possible that one may not exhibit any symptoms at all, and yet still carry the virus. This is why it will be extremely important and necessary for all school families to screen their child every morning to determine if their child is exhibiting ANY symptoms of COVID-19, and if so, keep their child home, not send them to school, and follow up with their health care provider. In addition, all CSD staff members will be expected to screen themselves every morning prior to arriving for work, and if they are exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 they too will be expected to NOT report to work and follow up with their health care provider.

At this time any student or staff member that has been exposed to someone positive for COVID-19 will need to complete 14 days of quarantine. A negative test received prior to the completion of the 14 days of quarantine would not be valid, because the exposed individual may become symptomatic on day 14, but not on day 9 when the person was not yet infected. Requiring a negative test result at the end of quarantine will need to be discussed with the health department, and Cedarburg School District will follow their recommendations.

Yes. Please Note: If your child did not have sustained contact with the student who was diagnosed with COVID-19, your child will be allowed to stay in school.

At this time there is no designated number of what may be considered an “acceptable” number of cases, but the Cedarburg School District will work closely with the health department in all instances.

The only students that will be required to quarantine are those that have direct contact/exposure to the individual diagnosed with COVID-19. That direct contact is one that was within 6 feet of the positive individual for at least 15 cumulative minutes. If a student was exposed to a fellow student that tested positive for COVID-19 in his/her classroom, any siblings of that direct contact/exposed student, WILL NOT need to quarantine because the siblings of the exposed student did not have contact with the infected individual.

Yes. Because the siblings most likely share spaces at home and the infected sibling will not be able to isolate themselves from other family members. In addition, not only will the siblings need to remain home for the duration of the infected sibling’s illness, but their official quarantine will not start until the infected sibling has been released from home isolation. This means that the siblings of the infected sibling could be out of school for three weeks or more.

COVID-19 and seasonal allergies share many symptoms, but there are some key differences between the two. For example, COVID-19 can cause fever, which is not a common symptom of seasonal allergies. The image below compares symptoms caused by allergies and COVID-19.

Because some of the symptoms of COVID-19 and seasonal allergies are similar, it may be difficult to tell the difference between them, and you may need to get a test to confirm your diagnosis.

*Seasonal allergies do not usually cause shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, unless a person has a respiratory condition such as asthma that can be triggered by exposure to pollen.

This is not a complete list of all possible symptoms of COVID-19 or seasonal allergies. Symptoms vary from person to person and range from mild to severe. You can have symptoms of both COVID-19 and seasonal allergies at the same time.

If you think you have COVID-19, follow CDC’s guidance on ”What to do if you are sick.” Get more information on COVID-19 symptoms, or more information on seasonal allergy symptoms from the AAFA.

Social distancing will vary based on the number of students per bus and spacing will take place as much as possible. 

• Mask will be required for students and bus drivers. 
• Bus seats and other high touch areas will be disinfected after each route. 
• An electrostatic sanitizing spray device will be used on each bus at the end of every day.   
• All students may be assigned seats and siblings sit together.
• Loading will occur from back to front.
• Non-essential off-campus trips will be eliminated.
• Windows will be open to increase circulation when appropriate. 

In order to keep students safe on the bus, all students must wear face masks while on the bus.  The bus company will also be disinfecting high touch areas of the bus between routes.  We continue to work with our local health department and the bus company, Riteway, as we continue to plan for the upcoming school year.

Reminders and enforcement of the mask mandate will come from the building level. Students will be reminded on a consistent basis about wearing their masks on the school bus and issues will be referred to the main office at each building. Unfortunately, the District lacks the resources to be able to provide staff supervision for every route in the District and we will need to rely on continued communication from the buildings to the students and updates from bus drivers. Safe driving practices will remain the number one priority for bus drivers, however.

The option of adding multiple bus routes to the existing schedule has been discussed and presented to the School Board, but there are two main obstacles that have prevented us from moving forward so far. First,  there is a severe bus driver shortage currently throughout the country. Over the past few years, we have struggled to hire and retain enough staff to maintain our current routes and adding more to our existing schedule would present challenges. In order to help ease this burden over the last few years, we have explored alternate solutions such as leasing school vans for smaller groups, contracting with other area bus companies to fill in gaps, combining routes with other area districts and providing training for some of our own staff to get their bus license. The second challenge to adding more routes to our current schedule would be funding. The current transportation budget for the District is just over $1.2 million. To achieve a ridership number of no more than 24 students per bus throughout the District, the total cost would exceed $500,000 for the year. In addition to many other new expenses needed to reopen schools this fall to provide a safe environment for students, there is also a lot of uncertainty regarding the state budget and we are anticipating a decrease in original funding planned for this year resulting in potentially significant deficit spending for 2020-21.

This is something Riteway included in their 2020-21 contract with the District and we are thankful that they are providing this service at no cost to us as we believe it is an important step in providing a clean environment for students. In addition to nightly cleaning, high touch surfaces such as handrails and seat backs will be wiped down between routes and hand sanitizer will be available to students on the bus.

Riteway will do what they can to encourage airflow throughout the bus while students are riding. However, this will be limited to perhaps only a few windows open on the bus during the cold months.

A typical bus is 12 seats on either side, therefore, 2 to a seat would be a total number of 48 students.

Riteway would be the best resource for the most up-to-date information on individual routes as they are currently going through the process of developing all the different schedules for 2020-21. Based on feedback from our surveys, we are expecting to see a drop in ridership as a result of personal preference and the number of students choosing to start the year through virtual learning. Our goal will be to maximize social distancing as much as possible on buses and review any routes that are approaching high capacity. However, this can be challenging at times based on how routes need to be scheduled for students to avoid extremely long ride times. In addition, we are required to provide transportation to all eligible students in the community and preferences for families may change so we also need to be ready for that ebb and flow during the year.

The Cedarburg School District Facilities and Extracurricular Guidelines were adapted to closely align with the Blueprint for Reopening Washington and Ozaukee Counties while referencing CDC considerations to protect students, families, and our community. These guidelines aim to address facility use and activity questions starting July 1, 2020 and will be updated accordingly. These guidelines can be found on our website here.

The WIAA has stated that students who attend their home district virtually can participate in athletics given the unique circumstances. All registered Cedarburg School District students will be allowed to try out and participate in extracurricular activities for the upcoming school year.