2020-21 Back to School Plan-FAQs

After studying guidance from the CDC and the Texas Education Agency, HPISD will have the following additional safety measures in place prior to the beginning of the school year:

• Hand sanitizer stations throughout each campus
• Regular times for students to wash their hands
• Plexiglass barriers to protect office staff and visitors, as well as in other high traffic areas in schools
• Mandatory mask policy
• Regular electrostatic spraying of disinfectant in each room
• Self-cleaning film applied to handrails and door handles
• Personal plexiglass partitions have been ordered for each elementary school student to use throughout the day
• Careful monitoring and encouragement of social distancing

Additional details may be found in the plan posted here.

Any governmental order (county or state) prohibiting in-person classes would result in HPISD issuing an emergency closure and a switch for all students (both in-person and remote option students) to the Emergency Closure Schedule. In addition, if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 in a particular class or campus, HPISD could, depending on the circumstances and in consultation with the Dallas County Health and Human Services department, issue an emergency closure to protect the safety of students and staff.

As per TEA guidelines, any time a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified on a campus, parents and staff at that particular school will be informed while protecting personal information about the individual. Anyone at school (students, teachers and staff) who either tests positive for the virus or who has had close contact (defined as within six feet with or without a mask for more than 15 minutes) with the individual with the confirmed case will be notified and asked to self-quarantine for 14 days since the last exposure.

Per the CDC guidelines, a single case of COVID-19 in a school, in most instances, will not warrant closing the entire school. Community spread and how much contact the person with COVID-19 had with others, as well as when such contact took place, will be considered. These variables will also be considered when determining how long a school, or part of the school, stays closed. If the spread of the virus within a school is higher than in the community, or if the school is the source of an outbreak, HPISD will work with local health officials to determine if temporarily closing the school building is necessary.

Please call and let your school nurse know. Your student’s absence will be excused, and they will have the option of attending school virtually if they feel up to it. They can return to school after 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, and there is a significant improvement in symptoms (i.e. coughing, shortness of breath). If your student tests positive but does not develop symptoms, the time frame of contagiousness starts 2 days prior to the date of test, through at least 10 days. 

The school nurse will also be in contact with you during this time should you have any questions.

HPISD will require masks but will not police the number of layers of the masks.

The reference to five days in relation to a school closure was incorrectly reported. The actual guidance says that a district cannot be closed longer than five days if a positive case requires extensive cleaning of a building. The five days are not a mandatory closure length.

To the extent possible, students who are out for quarantine will remain connected with their class at their grade level during the extended absence. When it is applicable, the student may be provided virtual support in other ways as well. The student will then return to in-person learning as soon as health criteria are met based on clinic procedures.

A student may not return until all health criteria are met based on district clinic procedures.

Symptoms associated with COVID – 19 include, but are not limited, to:

• Fever (>100° F) 
• Cough 
• Shortness of breath 
• Difficulty breathing 
• Sore throat 

• Headache 
• Chills 
• Rigors 
• Myalgia 
• Nausea/vomiting 
• Diarrhea

• New onset of loss of taste or smell 

This list of symptoms can mimic several different childhood illnesses or chronic health conditions. Just because a student may present with one of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean they will be excluded from school according to COVID guidelines. When the school nurse assesses a student presenting with signs of illness, the student's health history, along with many other factors, is taken into account.

If your student has any symptoms of illness, please keep them home until they meet the ‘Return to School’ criteria listed on the district’s Health Services webpage.  If your student should become ill while at school with fever and/or respiratory symptoms, the school nurse will, when appropriate, place a surgical mask on your student, assess them and contact you for further guidance.  

Masks will not be placed on a student that is short of breath or vomiting.

Each campus is designing a specific plan for their campus that will involve multiple entrance doors. Each entrance will be monitored by staff for safety. Parents will not be allowed to enter the building in the morning.

Elementary schools

Students will enter designated doors that will be monitored by campus personnel. Students who arrive/dismiss utilizing carpool will be monitored to ensure the safety of students and staff. Students will enter the building and wait in designated areas according to grade level and homeroom classes/cohorts. Designated staff members will supervise students, while keeping a 6 foot distance to ensure the safety of all students and staff.

MIS/HPMS

To limit gatherings in common areas, students will go directly to their 1st period classroom in the morning. Students will not congregate in the cafeteria or auditorium. Limited breakfast service may still be available in the cafeteria where students may eat breakfast following safe distancing guidelines and then report to their classrooms.  

To avoid hallway congestion, students will not use lockers. All personal items should be kept in their backpacks which will be carried with them between classes. Cell phones will remain in student backpacks turned off.

Hallways will be marked with directional arrows and spacing guidelines.  Students will wait in the hallway until their teacher admits them to the classroom.

Parents and visitors will not be allowed in the building during arrival or dismissal.

Afternoon dismissal will occur through the same doorways and students will be required to wait outside observing safe distancing until picked up in the afternoon. Students should leave campus immediately unless participating in teacher supervised tutorials.

Hand sanitizer will be available at each entrance and in each classroom.

Clear signage reminding students and staff to promote safety practices will be posted at entrances and in classrooms.

High school students

Parents of high school students are asked to avoid early drop offs in the mornings. Students who arrive by car will enter through their assigned main entrances outlined below. Parents/guardians will not be able to leave their cars or enter the building during student arrival or during student dismissal. Signage will be posted to communicate social distancing expectations within the school building.

Students who walk to school shall maintain appropriate distance (6 feet) from others and avoid congregating outside or inside the building. Parents who wish to pick up their student before the end of the school day will need to call ahead so students can be sent to parent vehicles upon arrival.

HPHS students will enter the following assigned entrances:

Freshman and Sophomores: Entrances on Douglas and Emerson

Juniors and Seniors: Main student entrance on Westchester

HPHS students arriving to school early will be directed to the following designated locations where students will be expected to sit distanced from one another:

Freshman and Sophomores: Cafeteria

Juniors and Seniors: HPHS Library and Auditorium  

During student dismissal, teachers will stagger student egress to assist students in maintaining appropriate distance from other students. Students will exit the building from the exterior door closest to their classroom.

Students will be dismissed by grade levels/homeroom teachers/cohorts through multiple exits while being monitored by staff members to ensure safety of all students, staff and parents. 

Homeroom teachers will walk their class out designated doors. Students who walk/ride bikes/meet with siblings to walk, will be dropped at “Meet Zones.” The homeroom teacher will then proceed to designated areas for carpool pickup. Students will stay in designated areas to ensure safety of all students, staff and parents.

Elementary schools:

Students in HPISD elementary schools will eat in the cafeteria or common area, socially distanced with their own personal plexiglass partitions. There will be time allotted for staff to clean all tables between lunch periods. Students will have assigned seats each day. Pre-selected meals will be delivered to assigned locations.

MIS/HPMS:

Areas will be designated for separate groups of students which may include additional lunch spaces in the cafeteria, gyms, assembly rooms, and outside to allow for students to be socially distanced from one another. Outdoor seating will be used, weather permitting. Students will continue to eat with their cohort group of the advisory class or house using assigned seating.

Limited lunch options will be available for students who do not bring lunch from home. Students will have the opportunity to pre-order hot and cold lunch selections which will be available for pickup to minimize lines for food service and cashiers.

During recess, cohort groups of advisory class or house will be limited to play areas at a single time to minimize exposure.

Cafeteria tables and seats will be disinfected between groups.

High school:

The following precautions are in place to help promote a healthy and safe environment during student lunch periods at HPHS:

• Students will line up 6 feet apart from each other. Markings on the floor will show where each student can stand safely.
• Lines will form from service lines and continue down the North/South corridors along the Cafeteria. Markings on the floor will show where each student can stand safely.
• Tables will be set up with plexiglass barriers between each seat at a safe distance.
• Overflow tables will be available in the Ensemble Room.
• All students will have masks on unless eating/drinking.
• No sharing of food between students.
• Measures will be taken to reduce the number of students in the cafeteria during each lunch period.
• All tables and surfaces will be disinfected between each lunch period.
• Staggered release of students who are picking up food; holding locations to decrease the number of students in hallways waiting to pick up food.
• Outside food deliveries will not be allowed for students.

Yes, during lunch when students are adequately distanced and using their personal plexiglass partition, during PE and at recess, as well as when adequately distanced.

SeeSaw was selected as the virtual platform for PreK-1st grade as it is easier for students at that age to interact with an iPad (the technology we have for those grade levels); 2nd grade students will use Google Classroom.

Initially yes, but we should all strive to eventually get students comfortable with the idea of walking by themselves to class.

If students are able to maintain adequate social distance, they will not be required to wear a mask during recess.

Students will engage with their assigned classes and teachers who are operating in person.

Teachers in each of these areas will be asked to identify ways to engage students virtually.

Yes, but the parent will need to work with a campus administrator on their options.

HPISD will use an asynchronous remote learning model as defined by TEA. This holds a requirement of “instructional minutes” for which HPISD is held accountable each day. These minutes may be documented in both synchronous (live) and asynchronous (not live) activities.  Students must ultimately demonstrate daily interaction with the instruction and activities and have daily evidence of engaging in and submitting work to be considered present in a remote model. This is a very different approach from the spring closure where teachers focused on only the essential learnings in a pass/fail model. This fall, students will engage in a full day of learning five days a week as required by TEA.

Remote students will not be asked to mingle with in-person students in the event they are asked to report to take a test. A testing center will be established to allow for adequate social distancing. This may occur during class time or at alternate times. The location may be at the high school or at a district facility. Assessments will cover the same objectives as those that are in-person but may be a different form depending on the instructor’s preference.  

Desks will face the same direction and students in elementary classes will be provided with a personal three-sided safety shield for their work space. These shields will be taken with the student to lunch to provide an extra layer of protection in addition to the social distancing when masks are removed during eating/drinking periods.