Communication/Family and Community Engagement

To help inform our reopening plan, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School has sought feedback and input from stakeholders, including administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents/guardians of students, the Schenectady County Health Department officials, and the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School Board. Engagement efforts included online surveys, virtual forums/meetings, and one-on-one conversations. 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School remains committed to communicating all elements of this reopening plan to students, parents and guardians, staff and visitors. The plan is available to all stakeholders via the school website at www.stkaterischool.org and will be updated throughout the school year, as necessary, to respond to local circumstances. The link to the plan appears on the website homepage with tabs for each section. Every effort has been made to ensure that the plan is accessible to all individuals.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School will use its existing communication channels – including our website, SwiftReach Message system, Back Pack Notes, and our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKgUG2FTKwE4AA6A-hD8sFQ?view_as=subscriber.  The information that we will share will be based on state guidance and consultation with the RCDA Catholic Schools Office and the Schenectady County Department of Health.  

In support of remote learning, the school will make computer devices available to students and teachers where appropriate. We are currently awaiting grant opportunities as well as purchases through Title 1 services, the CARES Act, and SMART Schools Bond Act to move toward a 1:1 electronics program for our students.   The school will provide students and their families with multiple ways to connect with teachers during remote learning, including Google Classroom, online platforms such as IXL, email, phone calls, and YouTube videos.  

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St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School is committed to ensuring that all of its students and their families are taught and new expectations related to all public health policies and protocols. As part of this continuous training, we will assess the best approach to communicating the information for each students’ age group and will provide frequent opportunities for students to learn these policies and protocols. This targeted education will help ensure that all students and their families know what is expected of them as they successfully return to the school setting. These trainings will cover:

• Hand hygiene:  We have posted signs throughout the building.  In addition, teachers are preparing health lessons for our Orientation Days (Sept. 10 and 11) that not only instruct our students in proper hand hygiene but also build into their schedule multiple daily times for handwashing (before/after snack, before/after playground, before/after lunch, after a sneeze/cough, and after visits to the bathroom to name a few).  Lessons are interactive and repetitive because we know children will need reinforcement to continue healthy hand hygiene.  Links to effective hand hygiene will be available to families.
• Proper face covering procedures (how to wear and remove): Students in PreK – Grade 5 will be required to wear masks outside of the classroom setting at all times (hallways, shared spaces, etc.).  Within the classroom students will have mask breaks for meals and breaks when social distancing/barriers are in place.  Proper placing and removal of masks will be taught by the classroom teacher as well as proper storage for when mask is not worn. 
• Social distancing:  Signs are posted in common areas throughout the school.  Hallways are marked; our schedule is designed to minimize two or more classes in the hallways at once, but when this is not feasible.  Floor signs dictate directionality in hallways, with a 6-foot distance.  In K-5 classrooms desks are all facing the same direction and each desk has an individual safety divider.  Students will be taught classroom and hallway protocol during their Orientation, and this will be reinforced throughout the school year.  
• Respiratory hygiene:  Signage is posted throughout the building on proper respiratory hygiene.  Orientation lessons will include proper respiratory hygiene.  

• Identifying symptoms:  Currently we are using a manual system to conduct health checks (temperature check and questionnaire).  We are exploring an electronic system for the school year where families would complete the health check at home prior to school entry. All staff members will manually sign in and complete the health questionnaire, including an attestation that they have taken their temperature. Visitors will complete a manual health screen questionnaire and a temperature check (if they need entry to the building), and complete hand hygiene.  If the visitor does not have a mask, one will be provided. Parents/Guardians will be allowed in the building only to pick up a sick or ill child.  Parents/Guardians will complete a manual health check, health questionnaire and perform hand hygiene.

The school has and will post signs throughout the school building to address public health protections surrounding COVID-19. Signage will address protocols and recommendations in the following areas: 

• Proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Acceptable face coverings and requirements related to their wear
• Hand washing
• Adherence to social distancing instructions
• Symptoms/prevention of COVID-19

In addition to signs, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School will encourage all students, faculty, staff and visitors through verbal and written communication to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DOH guidance regarding the use of PPE through additional means such as Monthly Newsletters, website postings, SwiftReach notifications, and Back Pack notes.  

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School is committed to creating a learning environment that protects student and staff health, safety and privacy. Our school 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.

School Closures

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School is preparing for situations in which the school building needs 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.

Data from the daily health checks will be analyzed weekly (and daily if warranted) to determine any uptick of symptoms.  The School Nurse and School Principal will monitor the Schenectady County Department of Health’s COVID website for trends of positive cases. The School Nurse will also communicate with the Niskayuna School District Health Office regarding local cases within the district.  The School Nurse or Principal will contact the Schenectady County Department of Health regarding any questions about suspected cases or uptick of symptoms. 

The school may choose to modify operations prior to closing to help mitigate a rise in cases. The school will consult the Schenectady County Department of Health and the Niskayuna School District Health Office when making such decisions.  

The School Principal and School Nurse will communicate with both the Niskayuna School District Superintendent as well as the RCDA Catholic Schools Office Superintendent regularly and, if needed, will consider closing school if absentee rates affect the ability of the school to operate safely. 

Individual classes may operate remotely with a positive case of COVID-19 while the rest of the school conducts in-person instruction.  

Should a school closure be warranted, the School Principal will communicate to staff and families via SwiftReach and Back Pack notes.  Instructions for distance learning will be sent home with families.  School supplies will be sent home with students, or staggered pick-up times will be available.