School Reopening Plan

I hope your family continues to be healthy and safe. The San Diego County Office of Education has worked with public health agencies to create a uniform school reopening plan that describes the requirements a school needs to meet to comply with state and local guidelines for reopening.

We are sharing the following procedures and protocols to meet the requirements based on that plan and adding other significant measures.

Face Coverings

• All students will be required to wear face masks and teachers will be required to wear masks or face shields.

Intensify Cleaning, Disinfection, and Ventilation

• Bipolar Ionization Purification system has been installed in all HVAC units.
• Classroom doors and windows will be open as much as possible to increase airflow.
• Hand sanitizers in all classrooms and around campus.
• Limited sharing of materials, supplies, and equipment among students.
• Increased daily sanitation with both a UV-C decontamination unit, as well as, electrostatic disinfectant sprayer used throughout the campus.
• DMP has purchased a COVID-19 training video series that the administration, teachers, parents, students, janitorial staff, and food servers will be required to watch.

Temperature/Health Screenings

• Parents will be using a daily screening app to check their children’s temperature and symptoms before leaving for school. The app will let you know if your children are able to attend school that day.
• Teachers will be using a daily screening app to check their temperatures and symptoms before leaving for school. The app will let the teacher know if they are able to attend work that day.
• Student and staff temperatures will be taken again before coming on campus.
• All health department protocols on self-isolation and guidelines to return to school will be enforced for students/teachers who have a fever and/or symptoms, or who have tested positive for the COVID-19 test.

Implementing Distancing

• No parents/volunteers on campus.
• Plexiglass shields on all student desks.
• Desks all facing the front of the class and separated as much as possible.
• Students staying in grade-level groups both inside and outside (no grade-level mixing).
• Students and teachers will be instructed to stay six feet apart as much as possible during the day.
• We will be increasing the number of recess and lunch times to reduce student density outside.
• Four outdoor covered areas will be used, as much as possible, as outdoor classroom space.

The Governor has mandated regular testing of staff, and dedicated contact tracing through the state’s contact tracing workforce partnership. DMP will begin researching how to have this testing/tracing program in place before students return to school.

We Appreciate Your Support

I have been fortunate to be in a group with 19 independent heads of schools here in San Diego. We have been meeting weekly since the forced school shut down back in March. We have freely discussed concerns, issues, regulations, what is happening in our communities, and how to support each other through this difficult time. They have been a wonderful resource for me and our school.

We are also fortunate to have dedicated, adaptable, and supportive teachers who are committed to educating your children in the best way possible, while also maintaining a safe environment for their students and themselves.

I appreciate your patience and partnership as we navigate these uncertain times together.  We appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we adjust to these ever-changing conditions to keep our students, teachers, and families safe, and help DMP emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever!

Here's a video about what a day at DMP looks like for students this summer and next year.

Sincerely,

Marci McCord
Director