FAQs
Following are some questions and answers you will find on the SCOE website; some have been customized and adapted for this district.
Q: Who makes the guidelines that schools need to follow in the fall?
A: School districts are bound by state and county health orders. Beyond this, they are free to develop their own operations and safety plan to best serve the needs of their community based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, and California Department of Education. The “Roadmap to a Safe Reopening” guidance document provided by the Sonoma County Office of Education, the school/health task force, and the county health department is not a mandate, but rather a series of recommendations and best practices that are aligned with the current public health order.
Q: Will there be health screening?
All staff will answer a checklist of questions to be sure they are healthy before arriving at the school. Parents will be given the screening checklist and asked to review with their child each morning. Daily temperature checks may be required at school based on today’s announcement. Students and staff will be encouraged to have frequent hand washing, and there are alcohol-based hand-sanitizers in every classroom.
Q: Will my child have to wear a mask all day? How will teachers address the social/emotional impacts of this?
A: Governor Newsom’s update today announced that students in grades K-2 are not required to wear masks at school. Students in grades 3 and above are required to wear masks as well as all staff. Children with an underlying health condition will be exempt. Masks are most important when other physical distancing measures cannot be in place. Teachers are planning together to provide opportunities to hold classes outside with physical distancing and no face coverings. We will consider more frequent outside breaks as well. SunRidge will provide additional social-emotional support to children to address these concerns.
Q: How will my young child be helped to feel comfortable given physical distancing?
A: This is a challenge of our current moment, one that we believe teachers and schools will
work hard to address. Local school reopening guidelines acknowledge the reality that teachers and students will need to interact more closely than six feet at times, and builds in flexibility in this regard. It is most important for teachers/students to keep interactions brief when they must be closer than six feet, and to wear a mask.
Q: Why are all these precautions necessary when children rarely get seriously ill from COVID-19?
A: While children do not appear to be as susceptible to this illness as older individuals, they can spread the illness to older family members or school employees. Sonoma County schools serve nearly 70,000 students and 8,000 school employees and therefore play an important role in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our overall community.
Following are some questions and answers you will find on the SCOE website; some have been customized and adapted for this district.
Q: Who makes the guidelines that schools need to follow in the fall?
A: School districts are bound by state and county health orders. Beyond this, they are free to develop their own operations and safety plan to best serve the needs of their community based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, and California Department of Education. The “Roadmap to a Safe Reopening” guidance document provided by the Sonoma County Office of Education, the school/health task force, and the county health department is not a mandate, but rather a series of recommendations and best practices that are aligned with the current public health order.
Q: Will there be health screening?
All staff will answer a checklist of questions to be sure they are healthy before arriving at the school. Parents will be given the screening checklist and asked to review with their child each morning. Daily temperature checks may be required at school based on today’s announcement. Students and staff will be encouraged to have frequent hand washing, and there are alcohol-based hand-sanitizers in every classroom.
Q: Will my child have to wear a mask all day? How will teachers address the social/emotional impacts of this?
A: Governor Newsom’s update today announced that students in grades K-2 are not required to wear masks at school. Students in grades 3 and above are required to wear masks as well as all staff. Children with an underlying health condition will be exempt. Masks are most important when other physical distancing measures cannot be in place. Teachers are planning together to provide opportunities to hold classes outside with physical distancing and no face coverings. We will consider more frequent outside breaks as well. SunRidge will provide additional social-emotional support to children to address these concerns.
Q: How will my young child be helped to feel comfortable given physical distancing?
A: This is a challenge of our current moment, one that we believe teachers and schools will
work hard to address. Local school reopening guidelines acknowledge the reality that teachers and students will need to interact more closely than six feet at times, and builds in flexibility in this regard. It is most important for teachers/students to keep interactions brief when they must be closer than six feet, and to wear a mask.
Q: Why are all these precautions necessary when children rarely get seriously ill from COVID-19?
A: While children do not appear to be as susceptible to this illness as older individuals, they can spread the illness to older family members or school employees. Sonoma County schools serve nearly 70,000 students and 8,000 school employees and therefore play an important role in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our overall community.
