Hamilton Information on Reopening School Buildings
"Reset--Reconnect--Resume"
By John Burkholder
Large initiatives like the eventual offering of an in-person schooling option to our students require a catchphrase to organize the work, so here at Hamilton we are using "Reset--Reconnect--Resume" to guide our work.
Reset: There are two key areas of work under this heading. First are our efforts around planning and preparing the campus for the eventual reintroduction of students and staff members once an in-person option for schooling is added. We have a staff committee currently working on the many protocols that will be introduced to support in-person schooling, from large items like mask requirements, lunch and recess procedures, and classroom furniture configurations, to smaller things like adding circles to the floor in areas were we anticipate lines will form, water bottle filling procedures, and hand washing videos. The second big bucket under our work to Reset will be to develop schedules and formats for learning that accommodate both students who attend school in-person and those who continue to join us from a distance. The bulk of the work in this second area will need to be done once a date has been determined for beginning an in-person option. When this date is know, we will begin to have an accurate picture of what our family preferences are regarding returning to Hamilton or staying in the distance setting.
Reconnect: The focus for Reconnect is to continue to meet the social and emotional needs of our students who are now and who continue in a distance environment though to the end of the year, and how we will work to connect with and among students when physically back in the building. This work to Reconnect will continue for the duration of the current school year, with a healthy dose no doubt planned for the fall when we hopefully have this pandemic behind us.
Resume: The work to Resume is what we will be doing as we take stock of where students are in their learning as we emerge from the pandemic, and adjusting our instruction as appropriate so students can Resume their normal schooling experience on their expected trajectory. The work to Resume will carry us through the 2021-2022 school year.
