Birmingham Public SchoolsSuperintendent Report

*Return to In-Person Learning - Proposal and Timeline

Board of Education Regular MeetingSeptember 15, 2020

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Overview

1. Introduction2. Safety Framework3. Plan4. Readiness5. Projected Timeline6. Next Steps7. Appendix

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INTRODUCTION

Back to School Requirements

1. Data: COVID-19 Cases at safe levels within a framework2. Plan: BPS in-person logistics plan needs to be decided and ready3. Readiness: Staffing, facility and student communication has happened

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1. Data: COVID-19 Cases at safe levels within safety framework COVID-19 status

2. Plan: BPS in-person logistics planningImplementing – calendar created

3. Readiness: Staffing, facility and stakeholder communicationo In progress, will continue implementation

after meeting

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Back to School Requirements: Status Update

Rationale

• Data and Interpretation – OCHD Data, State of Michigan Status, H GHI• Medical Community Expertise – AAP, CDC• Learning Loss – Brookings Report, NWEA Report, McKinsey Report• Special Education Concerns – NIH REPORT, Detroit News• Long-term Educational Loss Impact• Health and Well-Being – NE Journal of Medicine, JAMA• Desire for In-Person Learning in Safe Environment

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CurrentReturn

ElementaryK-1

• Elementary (K-1)• SE Categorical, SE

Services, Early Childhood SE, Adult Transition Program

• Individual SE Services – OT, PT, Psychology

• Outdoor Activities Following Guidelines

• Enrichment and Extracurricular

• Elementary (4-5) • Middle school (6-8)

• High School (9-12)

Elementary4-5

Middle6-8

High School High Risk

• High risk population across

all grades

Virtual Learning Option• Virtual Academy available for SE Categorical Classes and Elementary (K-5)• Livestreaming available for Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12)

Sept 15 Sept 30 Oct 14 Oct 19

Evaluation provided (Oct 6)

Not eligible inYellow status

Timeline for Phased-In Return to Hybrid

• Elementary (2-3)

Elementary2-3

Oct 7 NOT INCLUDED IN INITIAL RETURN

BCS 3-4 BCS 5-8

Hybrid Implementation

ALL• Daily screenings with Clear 2 Go• Teacher changes likely• Time change for transportation• Grab & Go combo breakfast and lunches offered every dayElementary

• AM/PM Cohort• (Half-day In-person) – Language Arts and

Mathematics• (Half-day Virtual)- Science, Social Studies, Health

and Unified Arts• Teacher check-in for students with extended

COVID absences • Birmingham Virtual Academy option for families

that do not want in-person

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Middle School• Hybrid Schedule to be implemented• Additional review of hybrid schedule

model with secondary stakeholders

SE Categorical• Full day of learning• Lunch in school• Paraeducator support• Birmingham Virtual Academy option for

families that do not want in-person instruction

• Teacher check-in for COVID absences

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SAFETY FRAMEWORK

• Phase 5 – fully reopened with some safety protocols

Phase 4

• Phase 3 – fully virtual

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In Phase 4, the State mandates safety requirements. A wide range of options are available on how school is configured to meet those requirements, in context of district-specific COVID case prevalence. This can result in methods from virtual to hybrid to F2F.

Michigan Reopening Guidelines

To help clarify, we have created the BPS COVID Safety Framework to guide our schools’ status in Phase 4 and help our community know what to expect under different scenarios.

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Data sources included in analysis• Michigan Reopening Status (1-5)• HGHI case level recommendation• Hospitalization rate• Death rate• Age level bands case frequency• Healthcare capacity strength• Testing, Tracing, Containment Infrastructure• Local occurrence, outbreak frequency• Other trends (test positivity, infection spread, daily new cases)

• (See appendix for BPS Leadership Covid-19 Status Dashboard)

BPS leadership will continue to evaluate the COVID case data provided by OCHD and other vetted sources, to inform our in-person learning status. We will use a color-coded system to communicate which plan we are following. BPS Color-Coded Safety Framework

GreenAll grade levels in-personVirtual learning only as necessary

YellowMost grade levels in-person w/ virtual option

OrangeSome grade levels in-person w/ virtual option

RedNo in-person option

BPS COVID Safety Framework

GREEN (less than 1 case per 100,000 & other metrics considered)

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SE Elementary

• In person

Middle High School High Risk*

Green virtual learning options• Virtual Academy option available for SE and Elementary (K-5)• Livestreaming available for Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12)

High risk is defined as those at high-risk from COVID-19. CDC defines the following, among others, as high-risk factors:

- Diabetes- Obesity- Asthma- Cancer- Chronic kidney disease- COPD- Immunocompromised state

from solid organ transplant- Serious heart conditions- Sickle cell disease

Athletics

• In person• MHSAA

rules

Afterschool Clubs and Enrichment

• In person • In person • In person • In person w/ virtual option

• In person• MHSAA

rules

YELLOW (1-10 cases per 100,000 & other metrics considered)

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• Hybrid• In person • Hybrid • Virtual

High Risk

Yellow virtual learning options• Virtual Academy available option for SE and Elementary (K-5)• Livestreaming available for Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12)

High SchoolMiddleElementarySE Cat., Services

Athletics Afterschool Clubs and Enrichment

• In person• MHSAA rules

• MHSAA rules for gathering will apply

• Virtual

*In Yellow, BPS can transition to the next least restrictive education mode

ORANGE (10-25 cases per 100,000 & other metrics considered)

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• Hybrid• In person • Virtual • Virtual

Orange virtual learning options• Virtual Academy option available for SE and Elementary (K-5)• Livestreaming available for Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12)

High RiskHigh SchoolMiddleElementarySE

Athletics Afterschool Clubs and Enrichment

• Virtual

• In person• MHSAA Rules

• MHSAA rules for gathering will apply

*In Orange, BPS can transition to the next least restrictive education mode

RED (more than 25 cases per 100,000 & other metrics considered)

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Red virtual learning option• Virtual Academy continues• Classes K-12 continue virtually

• Virtual• In person, where possible

• Virtual • Virtual

High RiskHigh SchoolMiddleElementarySE

Athletics Afterschool Clubs and Enrichment

• Virtual

• MHSAA guidance, likely suspended

• MHSAA guidance, likely suspended

BPS COVID-19 Safety Framework – Example

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9/15/20 – 9.0 cases/100k

BPS COVID-19 OVERALL Framework Status: YELLOW

Factor 1: MI Safe Start Phase - 4

Factor 2: Harvard Global Health Institute Risk Level <1/100k 1<X<10/100k 10<X<25/100k >25/100k

Factor 3: OCHD Weekly Data Report

1 0-4 year-old OCHD Age Level Band Relative Case Frequency Relative Frequency Low Relative Frequency Consistent Relative Frequency High2 5-9 year-old OCHD Age Level Band Relative Case Frequency Relative Frequency Low Relative Frequency Consistent Relative Frequency High3 10-13 year-old OCHD Age Level Band Relative Case Frequency Relative Frequency Low Relative Frequency Consistent Relative Frequency High4 14-18 year-old OCHD Age Level Band Relative Case Frequency Relative Frequency Low Relative Frequency Consistent Relative Frequency High5 19-29 year-old OCHD Age Level Band Relative Case Frequency Relative Frequency Low Relative Frequency Consistent Relative Frequency High6 Hospitalization Rate (OCHD) – Case Frequency Case Frequency Low Case Frequency Concerning/Growing Case Frequency High7 Death Rate (OCHD) – Case Frequency Case Frequency Low Case Frequency Concerning/Growing Case Frequency High8 Healthcare Capacity Strength (OCHD) - Assessment Strong Stressed Weak9 Testing, Tracing, Containment Infrastructure (OCHD) Strong Stressed Weak

10 Local Occurrence, Outbreak Frequency, Local Case Frequency (BPS, OCSA) Low Concern Concern High Concern

11 Other (Implementation near) Low Concern Concern High Concern

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Transitions between “color” categories may occur, based on the BPS COVID Safety Framework.

If the BPS leadership team upgrades or downgrades the color ranking, then the BPS community will be notified including any plans for a change in educational delivery system.

• Moving from in-person to virtual*• Moving from virtual to in-person *

*Unless prevented from doing so, we will provide appropriate transition time for any change.

Transitioning between Colors

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PLANNING

BPS is concluding in-person protocol research and planning. The scope of the effort includes: • COVID protocols completed by 9/18• COVID case management plans completed by 9/18• Facility, bus & staffing logistics completed by 9/23• Classroom & building preparation completed by 9/25

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BPS In-Person Logistics Planning

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BPS COVID Exposure Scenarios & Workflows

Scenarios and workflows address actions to be taken by individuals, households, schools and OCHD when:• Directly exposed to someone with COVID-19• Indirectly exposed to someone with COVID-19• Presenting with COVID-19 symptoms (failing a screener)• Receiving a positive or negative viral test result• No test is administered, but symptoms present• Multiple positive cases present in a population (i.e. cohort)

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BPS COVID Situation Highlights

• Consideration of “primary exposure,” defined by CDC and health agencies as within six feet for 15 minutes.

• Primary exposure requires isolation or quarantine for minimum of 10/14 days depending on situation.

• Negative test results are not required for return; medical clearance required for a return.

• Following alternate diagnosis or non-COVID presumption both without exposure to COVID, a return to school is allowed after 24 hours fever-free w/o fever reducing medication.

• Safety protocols (i.e. social distancing, cleaning, hygiene) guided by CDC and health agencies greatly reduce need to isolate cohorts, classes or schools following a confirmed positive case.

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BPS COVID Protocol Status Document

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BPS COVID Protocol Major Additions• Signed in-person learning COVID safety compliance expectation form for all families• Masks for all staff and students with medically required exemptions made possible only with signed template• Implementation of Clear to Go App for daily self/parent screening• Daily temperature screening at home and at school• Accelerated and amplified flu vaccine drive across BPS• Addition of deep cleaning machines for sanitation• HVAC adjustments, staffing and retrofitting to accommodate MERV13 filters• Tele-health and testing relationships formed for BPS students, families, staff• Livestreaming availability for students in quarantine/isolation• Medical clearance required for return from quarantine/isolation/illness• 3 OCHD nurses on-site and working with staff, families• Customizable PPE for staff members• Additional custodial staff to be added• Required seating charts to support contact tracing

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READINESS

• Direct communication with all stakeholder groups via eNews, meetings, educational sessions, website and social media (immediately)

• Develop communication schedule for medical professional HAB volunteers (9/18)

• Secondary schedule review (9/18)

• Employee outreach (9/18)• Identify high-risk employees & accommodate• Implement staffing and scheduling

• Parent outreach (9/18)• Identify elementary families requesting

• In-Person• Virtual

• Identify middle and high school families• In-Person• Livestreaming

• Contract relationships for testing, health care hotline (9/25)

• Weekly monitoring of COVID landscape including COVID and PPE Inventory (immediate & ongoing)

BPS Readiness

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PROJECTEDTIMELINE

• BPS is currently in “Yellow” status, which means we are eligible to for in-person learning.

• Time needed to implement in-person plan• In this instance, we are moving from full virtual start to in-person learning

(red to yellow). • Successful transition will require a phased-in approach to ongoing logistics

focusing on those who need in-person learning the most.

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BPS Phase-In Approach

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CurrentReturn

ElementaryK-1

• Elementary (K-1)• SE Categorical, SE

Services, Early Childhood SE, Adult Transition Program

• Individual SE Services – OT, PT, Psychology

• Outdoor Activities Following Guidelines

• Enrichment and Extracurricular

• Elementary (4-5) • Middle school (6-8)

• High School (9-12)

Elementary4-5

Middle6-8

High School High Risk

• High risk population across

all grades

Virtual Learning Option• Virtual Academy available for SE Categorical Classes and Elementary (K-5)• Livestreaming available for Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12)

Sept 15 Sept 30 Oct 14 Oct 19

Evaluation provided (Oct 6)

Not eligible inYellow status

Timeline for Phased-In Return to Half Day Hybrid

• Elementary (2-3)

Elementary2-3

Oct 7 NOT INCLUDED IN INITIAL RETURN

BCS 3-4 BCS 5-8

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NEXT STEPS

• Board Feedback and Approval (9/15)• Publish Safety Protocols (Week of 9/14)• Publish COVID-19 Scenarios and Workflows (Week of 9/14)• Begin Readiness Communication to BPS Community (Week of 9/14)• Employee Screening (Week of 9/14)• Family Selections of In-Person or Virtual (Week of 9/14)• Rolling Staff Information Sessions (Begin Week of 9/21)• Educational Sessions for Parents/Families (Begin Week of 9/21)• K-1, SE Categorical Class Scheduling (Implement Week of 9/21)• Grades 2-5, 6-8 Scheduling (Implement Week of 9/21)• Transportation Runs w/o students (Prior to Return)

Next Steps

• Inventory? Current tracking and monitoring; supply sound; re-order in advance

• BVA Removal? Needed to update requests upon new plan, protocols• Same Formats Across Grade Levels? Different depending on age,

appropriateness, COVID prevalence; child care• Why Change Now? Rationale, updated HAB suggested protocols, safety

framework and OCHD data, vetted COVID response plans• Long-term Commitment? Format moving forward

Questions

APPENDIX

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CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

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APPENDIX

F2F = full in-person learningHybrid = half-day in person learningVirtual Academy = student and teacher are virtualLivestreaming = teacher is in-person with the students who have chosen to be in-person and livestreaming students who need virtual learning access

Terminology

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• Harvard-GHI is a framework to guide decision-making – not definitive• Other data sources to be included in analysis

• Hospitalization rate• Death rate• Age level bands case frequency• Healthcare capacity strength• Testing, Tracing, Containment Infrastructure• Local occurrence, outbreak frequency• Trends from other data sources (test positivity, infection spread, daily new cases)

BPS COVID-19 Decision-Making Framework/Modalities

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