J.L. Long Middle School

  Return to On-Campus Instruction

Week of October 5, 2020

All students will return to campus on Monday using a 5-day instructional model (Monday – Friday).  This means students are at school every day if their parents chose in-person instruction for their child.

What are students required to bring to school?

1. Laptop/Chromebook with charger to and from school and to each class every day
2. Any school supplies designated by teachers
3. Mask
4. Student ID
5. All Day Binder OR clear backpack.  See Clear Backpack Link on PTA website for further information regarding backpack/binder rules.

What else can students bring to school?

1. Water bottle - Due to COVID 19 restrictions, water fountains will not be accessible to students while at school.  Please have your student bring a water bottle to school each day.
2. Girls may still bring a small purse or attach a small, non-clear pouch to their backpack for personal effects.
3. Lunch – Lunch will still be provided on campus, but students can also bring their lunch. Students who bring their lunch to school are NOT required to use a clear lunch box.
4. Phone – Students can bring phone but must be turned off during school day.

What are Covid-19 Protocol steps being taken?

• Temperatures are taken at every entrance and students will not be allowed in building with above 99.9.
• Sanitizer stands placed all around campus.
• Students will be carrying a portable plexiglass divider with them throughout the school day.  Please ensure that whether they carry a binder or backpack that they have a free hand to carry their divider with them from class to class.
• Each classroom will be provided with CDC approved disinfectant wipes and disinfectant spray to be utilized as determined by the classroom teacher.
• One-way traffic in hallways and stairwells.
• Water fountains will be closed off.
• Everyone in the building is required to wear a mask.
• Parents are not allowed to deliver outside lunches on campus for students.

What are the steps Dallas schools will take if a student or staff member is confirmed positive for COVID-19 or reports to campus with symptoms of the illness?

Anyone who receives a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 will be removed from campus and should remain isolated at home and seek medical treatment. If staff or students begin feeling ill or show symptoms while on campus, the school nurse will assess their potential exposure with a temperature check and a series of screening questions. The nurse will ask about symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and runny nose and if the student or staff member has been in direct or close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The nurse may contact the student’s parent to answer the questions.

 If the answers indicate COVID-19 infection, the nurse will:

• Isolate the individual and close the clinic.
• Use standard health precautions and protective PPE and document the findings.
• Notify parents/guardians to pick a child up from school and direct parents or affected employees to seek coronavirus testing or medical treatment.
• Notify the principal and Dallas ISD Health Services who will contact Dallas County Health and Human Services for testing and direction on next steps such as contact tracing. Tracing will help determine if the illness was contracted on campus. 
• The principal will require the custodian to disinfect the site in accordance with Dallas ISD Environmental Health and Safety recommendations. 
• Health Services will work with the Communications department to share relevant information to students, families and the general public. 
• The principal will review the facts of the case and provide a district-approved memo to all individuals identified as having been in contact with the affected student or staff member. 
• The campus nurse will follow up with the affected individual and provide information about their return to school or work.
• Under federal health guidelines, persons identified as COVID-19 positive have a right to privacy and their names cannot be released.
• If your student was not in close contact with the affected student or staff member, they are at low risk for infection. However, if your child starts showing symptoms of a fever, sore throat, and cough, please keep him/her away from others and call your healthcare provider for guidance. Healthy students are not considered to be high-risk for contracting COVID-19. The high-risk group includes people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and weakened immune systems. All Dallas ISD schools and facilities are regularly sanitized to reduce the spread of the virus. 

What is the bell schedule?  

See the attached Bell Schedule for on-campus learning. Students are required to return their plexiglass dividers and face shields (should they choose to wear one) to their 1^st period classroom at the end of the day (the updated bell schedule reflects this).

How will teachers teach both the in-person and virtual learners?

Each classroom will have a camera phone with auto-tracking tripod that will follow the teacher in the class as they teach and will set aside time each class period to answer any questions that students distance learning at home may have. Each teacher will inform students how they are to submit questions during the class period.

Are Wednesdays still Asynchronous?

Yes.  Wednesday is, and will continue to be, an asynchronous day even for the students who are on campus. This is the time when teachers can implement teaching strategies to reinforce and evaluate understanding such as small group instruction and reteaching of content. Students who are on campus will still attend all classes according to the Bell Schedule, and will complete work as assigned by their teachers via Google Classroom.  Teachers will be available for both students on campus and at home to provide small group instruction as necessary. 

What is the dress code?

See Dress Code link on PTA website.

Will Dallas ISD bus transportation be available? 

Yes, please visit the DISD Student Transportation page to search for your specific bus information.

What Will a Typical Drop-Off and Pick-Up Look Like for My Student?

Please be mindful of the Bus Pick-Up/Drop-Off zone during the morning and afternoon, and note the flow of traffic as many of the streets surrounding the school are one way during drop-off and pick-up times.

Students may begin entering the building at 8:00 am.  Students are to enter the building in the following locations:

6^th Grade - right side of the building (when facing the front of the school) next to the Auditorium. 

7th Grade - left side of the building (when facing the front of the school)

8th Grade  - Cafeteria Entrance around the right side of the building

All students must wear a mask to enter the building where they will have their temperature screened and their backpacks/binders checked.  Students will report directly to their 1^st period classroom where they will pick up their own plexiglass divider and an optional face shield to wear during the day. 

Class begins promptly at 8:25 am.  All students entering the building after that time are considered tardy.  Students entering the building after 8:35 am must do so through the middle doors in the front of the building.

Students will follow teacher instructions as to the seating arrangement and will set up their plexiglass dividers and laptops.   Students will bring their personal plexiglass divider and laptop with them to each class during the day.

Before dismissal, students will return to their 1^st Period classroom where they will store their plexiglass divider for use the next day.  Laptops are to return home with students to complete schoolwork. 

When the dismissal bell rings, students will be directed to exit using one of the three front doors of the building that is closest to their 1^st period classroom and will make their way to either bus transportation or a parent’s vehicle.