ESSERS III Funding Plan

The ESSERS III Fund Application process requires that we publish several plans and allow for public input on these plans. One of the ways to provide input is during the public comment time at our July 5th Special Board meeting. The return to in-person Instruction Plan, the Continuity of Services Plan and the Plan for use of ESSERS III funds are available in this news article, will be a discussed at the board meeting and public comment will be permitted. Anyone attending the meeting will be able to speak to the board for not more than 5 minutes concerning these plans. (that is a total of 5 minutes per speaker - NOT 5 minutes per plan.)


Another way to provide input is to complete the survey below. Your responses will be tabulated and shared with the board on Monday night. The link to the survey is listed below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/...

Morrill Schools’ Return to Learn Plan for the 2021-2022 School Year

Mission:

While carefully attending to the health and safety of students and staff, we will endeavor to maximize student learning and minimize the clumsiness and burden to the parents, school staff and the community.

We will continue these Health and Safety precautions that we began when we returned after the COVID-19 closure. These precautions have been and will be for all students infant – 12th grades:

  • Illness Monitoring:
    • Each student and staff member will be temperature checked at school within the first hour of the day.
    • Students and Staff who are checked above 100° will need to be fever free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing medication before returning to school. It is IMPERATIVE that Staff and Students do NOT take fever-reducing medication before coming to school.
    • Symptomatic students and staff STAY AT HOME.
  • Hand-washing & Hand-sanitizing:
    • Each student K-12 and each staff member must use hand-sanitizer upon entry of the bus, buildings and anytime they return from the bathroom, recess, specials, lunchroom, after they have coughed, sneezed or used a tissue.
    • Each child and staff member in early childhood must wash their hands the prescribed times per day for the prescribed length of time.
    • Avoid touching high touch surfaces; wash hands or apply hand sanitizer after doing so.
  • Disinfecting:  the schools has a system of enhanced disinfection especially between groups
    • High contact surfaces (door knobs and other handles, light switches, bathroom fixtures)
    • Locker rooms and weight room
    • Computer labs, library, maker space, music room
    • Cafeteria:
  • In the event of a school, community or regional surge in the pandemic, we will carefully assess our situation and determine our course of action in conjunction with the local health department.

                                                               i.      Students will be spaced so that there are no more than six per table.

                                                             ii.      Silverware will be dispensed onto the trays by cafeteria workers.

                                                           iii.      Students will not touch the counter in the cafeteria, will be handed their tray and handed their milk.

                                                           iv.      The salad bar will NOT be available, however pre-packaged salads will be available for those preferring a salad meal rather than an entrée meal.

The focus on health can NOT jeopardize the effective preparation of our students. THEREFORE, we plan to begin school face-to-face for all students 5-days-a-week.  Our attention to the academic, social, emotional and nutritional needs of our students is paramount. For as long as we are permitted, by Nebraska’s Governor and Commissioner of Education, we will not limit the number of days or hours students can be in school.

Sincerely,

Joe Sherwood, Superintendent

Morrill Public Schools

Educational Continuity

Plan and Expectations

Last Modified July 2021

Overview & Purpose

We value our student’s education and resolve to provide meaningful educational experiences whether students and staff are face-to-face, in remote situations, or in any combination of the two.  In order to maintain routine, access to teachers and access to curriculum, we have created the following plan.  The actual situations we face may require modifications to this plan. 

Education Plan

  1. We believe that the best access to education we can provide is for our students to interact with their regular classroom teachers face-to-face on a daily basis.
  2. When students or teachers are under a quarantine or isolation order, we have the technology to continue education with direct contact between student and teachers via mobile devices in remote learning scenarios.
  3. Even in remote situations, students should maintain a consistent routine that mirrors their normal academic schedule as much as possible. 
  4. Some of the media used will be: Google Classroom, ZOOM, Google Hangouts, School Email, Face Book pages, Video, and paper packets. 
    1. Expectations for the virtual zoom classroom: BE PRESENT with VIDEO ON              
    2. While we do not expect students to sit in front of their screens for 8 hours a day,  each individual teacher will set the expectations for their students, consistent with their building administrator

5.      Special Education: Arrangements will be made by the Principal and Special Education teacher to ensure the needs of IEP’s are being meet.

a.       Coordination between the school and ESU 13 will take place to offer support (PT, OT, Counseling, Etc.) for students requiring specific services.

b.      Parent meetings via ZOOM will be scheduled to provide the PRN (prior written notice) to be discuss for each individual student’s needs. 

c.       PARA’s will be scheduled weekly on ZOOM for individual resource help with students they worked with during the school day.

6.      Counseling:  The counselors will make arrangements individual students and their parents for mental health, scholarships, college course support, etc. 

  1. Attendance:  Teachers document attendance for each class to track participation in their learning opportunities.  Teachers will be checking logged time in Google Classroom, frequency of correspondence via email, Google Hangouts, Face Book pages, and attendance in Zoom meetings.  
  2. Supervision while students are in a remote situation:  This will be the responsibility of parents.  We cannot supervise as we normally would within our classroom. 
    1. We recommend having a designated charging station (in the living room or kitchen or some other shared space) where students have to leave their device so they can sleep at night.
    2. Filtering: School-issued devices are still being filtered by the school filtering service, even when at home.  Please be aware of what your children are viewing and contact us if you become aware of any sites that are problematic.

Parents will be contacted when repeated attempts to visit inappropriate sites occurs.  Continued attempts may result in student losing account access.      

  1. Communication: We will continue to communicate via phone, our One-Call system, email, or other means as appropriate.  The BEST communication method with teachers is via EMAIL; email or phone calls may also be made to administration during office hours.  

Devices/Internet Access

  1. Every student will be issued a chrome book and a charger.  Families are responsible for maintaining the device while it is in their custody and returning the device and charger at the end of the school closure period or the end of the school year.
    1. In the event paper packets are required for class, families will receive packets, books or materials delivered during the meal delivery times.  Completed work may also be sent back via the same method. 
  2. Communication (One-Call, Face Book, Email, Phone Calls) will be sent out to identify families in need of internet access and those families will be contacted regarding solutions.
    1. If you are lacking internet access, we ask that you first contact Charter/Spectrum (866-874-2389), or Viaero Wireless who are offering WIFI for students during this time.
    2. If you require assistance with this process, please contact the appropriate school office: Early Childhood 247-3412, Elementary 247-2176, Secondary 247-2149.
  3. We understand that rural WIFI has its challenges.  There will be times when students AND teachers have difficulties connecting.  We will trouble-shoot as many of these problems as we can - but many times this is out of our control.  If you cannot connect try the following one at a time, in this order:
    1. On your device: turn your WIFI off and then back on.
    2. Turn your router/hotspot off and then back on (unplug the Ethernet cord for 10 seconds if you have one).
    3. If you are using a phone as a hotspot, go to settings, network, reset network settings (or settings, general, reset, reset network settings).
    4. Contact your internet provider.
    5. Keep trying to connect every hour or two until you can connect.  Call the school office and let them know what is happening so they can assist you with what you need. 

Meal Delivery

1.      When students are homebound due to isolation, quarantine or temporary school shut down, breakfast and lunch is available to be delivered to the home.

2.      In order to make those arrangements call the school office: Early Childhood 247-3412, Elementary 247-2176, Secondary 247-2149.

3.      Any educational packets or resources the students need will also be delivered.