Scheduling & Logistics

Schools have to look different and function differently to keep students and staff safe. School leaders will need to reconfigure student groupings, daily schedules, and visitor access to limit contact between individuals.

Key Recommendations

Group students and staff together in “cohort groups”. Keep cohorts small with the same individuals together in each group, and limit inter-group contact to reduce the number of individuals exposed to each other.

Cohorting

Cohorts should stay together throughout the day and be consistent day to day.
Aim to limit cohorts to approximately 25 people (inclusive of students and teachers).
Evaluate cohorts for equity, ensuring configurations allow for students to access high-quality instruction, needed supports, inclusion in general education spaces, and a representative group of peers.
Review cohorts for feasibility of grouping children from the same family.

Scheduling

Schedule movement of cohorts to limit contact (e.g., for mask breaks, recess, and outdoor time).
Determine when cohorts will be in-person vs. remote in a hybrid (mix of virtual and in-person) model.
Schedule staggered arrival and drop-off times by cohort when possible.

Visitors

List who is allowed on school grounds and who is not allowed without invitation
- Include the lists in communication to teachers, parents/caregivers, and community members
- Clearly mark entrances with the “allowed list” and a number to call for more information
Designate alternative entrances for vendors
Host parent-teacher conferences online

Reflection Points for Teams

How will we define “equity” for cohorting within our community?
Will cohorts be one week in-person & one week virtual? Or rotate days? How will this vary by grade or school?
Some cohorts may be in-person more frequently than others, i.e. younger grades coming more frequently and older grades a bit less.
For regional schools, are towns experiencing different levels of COVID-19 transmission and infection? Could we cohort by town?
Do students who attend the same extracurriculars (like sports and drama) need to be in the same cohort?
Do students need to be cohorted considering transportation and busing in order to de-densify buses?
What vendors need access to the building?
Will high schools with open campus policies be allowed to continue this option?

Ideas

Develop a task force of community members to give their input on the cohorting plan for the school or district.
Arrange for service and vendor calls to occur when students are not in the building.
Conduct virtual parent-teacher conferences.
Consider who will be on campus day-to-day versus those there for a special reason, or joining virtually.
**Allowed day-to-day:** Students, teachers, and staff.
**Require invitation:** Parents/caregivers, police, community members. An invitation may be due to an emergency, a sick student, or a meeting.
All visitors must check in at reception.
Avoid allowing visitors into classrooms and other student spaces.

Starting Point Tools

The following resources offer starting points for school leaders to think through scheduling, student groupings, and more. These comprise of practitioner toolkits and published guides to provide actionable next steps.

(We will continue to update these as we continue to learn about additional tools)