Groton School District outlines reopening plan

Whether parents opt for in-person or remote learning for their students, Groton Central School is asking each family to make a 10-week commitment to whichever plan they choose.

After months of hard work and planning, a successful on-time submission of its educational plan to Albany and some very minor adjustments to that plan following the governor’s clarifying statements on Friday, Aug. 7, both Groton Elementary (GES) and Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS) are set to open Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Superintendent Margo Martin is very thankful for the way the management and leadership teams have done the legwork necessary to put the plan together.

The level of detail required by the state regarding cleaning protocols, HVAC systems, transportation schedules and bus routes, food service, and daily cleaning and sanitizing of all spaces, on top of all the needs around the education of the students has been, and continues to be, quite an undertaking. But she could not be more proud of the energy and collaboration everyone has shown.

Already ahead of the game, the district had sent out a parent Google form survey the week prior to the governor’s additional requirement for districts to hold public sessions for parents and teachers by Aug. 21, asking parents to submit questions via the survey that they would like to see answered as part of the presentations the district had already scheduled for Aug. 10 through 14.

From a response of almost 150 questions, albeit many of which were similar, a FAQ document was created to distribute to parents during the informational sessions, and GCS has woven the answers to them into the presentations that were already planned.

The parent presentations will cover parent pickup and drop-off, busing, meals, COVID safeguards within the schools, movement around the school, who is allowed in the school buildings, expectations for students — such as face coverings, hand washing, social distancing and food — school schedules and various miscellaneous items specific to each grade level.

In addition to these, high school sessions will also include student parking, locker use, hallway traffic pattern, in-person learning and virtual expectations, tech support and more.

Students in grades UPK through six who opt for in-person instruction will attend school every scheduled school day Monday through Friday, utilizing an a.m./p.m. shift model. Both shifts afford students about three hours of live instruction time. They will be given supplemental materials to extend their learning when at home, and family units will be placed in the same shift, unless specific programming does not allow it, such as career and technical education.

Students in grades seven through 12 will have a blended schedule of four classes at school and two classes virtually every day. They will be required to “attend” their virtual classes at their scheduled time. Thus, school hours will be from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. daily.

Students choosing the remote model will attend their virtual classes as scheduled but will have flexibility in completing the core subject work.

Those who have chosen remote learning in grades kindergarten through six will have their own teacher assigned to them who will be providing daily instruction in ELA and math via live, scheduled Zoom lessons.

Grades seven through 12 will be given a schedule for the classes and will be live-streaming into each course based upon their schedule. They will receive the same instruction as those students who are in school. They will just be “attending” from their remote location while in-person learners are sitting in the room.

Student schedules for grades UPK through six will be available by mid-August and grades seven through 12 by the last week of August.

To facilitate the a.m./p.m. shift model, GCS has had to increase the number of bus runs scheduled daily, resulting in a need to combine bus routes to increase driver availability throughout the day.

Students who ride the bus must wear a mask, and the district will provide masks to those who arrive at the bus without one. Students will be assigned seats, and siblings will sit together on the bus.

Due to consolidating bus routes, students can anticipate having a longer ride on the bus to and from school daily. GCS apologizes in advance for the challenges these changes create for its families who will be using school transportation.

Whichever plan families choose, Martin, the administrative team and the faculty and staff are all looking forward to welcoming their students back to GCS this fall.

There are links on the GCS website, grotoncs.org, covering the reopening plan in more minute detail, including the actual FAQs submitted by parents, as well as information specifically about COVID testing and tracing. In addition, the parent informational sessions will be recorded and links to those will be posted on the site as well.

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

High School principal

The Aug. 5 edition of “Groton on the Inside” featured an introduction of the Groton Jr./Sr. High School’s new principal, Dustin Bush, but unfortunately, due to personal reasons beyond his control, Bush had tendered his resignation almost simultaneously with the production of the story. Nonetheless, I hope that learning about someone who was almost part of our community was enjoyable.

Families cooking together

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, in partnership with the Groton Public Library and Groton Harvest, will be offering a “Families Cooking Together” series of classes wherein families will learn how to cook healthy meals, receive the food needed each week for the meals and then participate in a Zoom class to receive step-by-step instructions for preparing them.

These classes will be held from 11 a.m. to noon every Friday from Aug. 14 to Sept. 4 and are open to the first 25 families in need who sign up by calling the GPL at (607) 898-5055 or emailing director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.

GPTO Virtual High $5 Drive

COVID-19 has severely limited the ability of the Groton Jr./Sr. High School PTO to fundraise, but the organization does not want to stop helping its students, teachers and community, so it has come up with an initiative to try and do just that.
Your support will allow the PTO to uphold its mission by donating to the new Virtual High $5 Drive. Make your donation today at https://grotonpto.square.site.