DCS Healthy Restart / FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
This page will be updated regularly as our staff is thoughtfully and thoroughly working through all of the questions we have received.

What is Delaware City Schools plan to open schools in the fall?
Given current information, the district is planning to open schools with a Blended Learning model where students will attend on a 3 day/2 day learning rotation. The District will also offer a full-time at-home learning option through the DCS Online Academy. View details of each learning model.

What days will students attend on the Blended Learning Model?
Students will be placed in one of two groups (Group A & Group B). Group A will attend on Monday/Tuesday and Group B will attend on Thursday/Friday. Wednesday will be the alternating day for students. All members of a family will be grouped together. Families will be provided an opportunity to let us know if family members with differing last names need adjustments. We will also have a system in place for families to share hardship situations that may require a schedule adjustment. Minor adjustments have been made to the calendar to balance the number of in-person days between the two groups.
Group A Attendance Calendar
Group B Attendance Calendar

If I choose to keep my students home, will they remain DCS students?
Yes, if you enroll your students in the DCS Online Academy, they remain part of our Delaware City Schools family and will receive instruction from our DCS teachers.

Can we change our student's learning model once school starts?
In order to secure staffing for the blended learning model and the DCS Online Academy, families are asked to make a decision for the entire semester (August 31-December 18). We will work with families to make adjustments on a case-by-case basis for health and education reasons.

Who can I contact if our family needs guidance on which learning model is right for my student?
Preschool - Mindy Burgeson: 740-833-1116
Elementary (K-5) - Joe Uher: 740-833-1108
Secondary (Grades 6-12) - Aaron Cook: 740-833-1125
Special Education - Angie Macwhinney: 740-833-1129

Has the school calendar been revised?
Yes, the student start date has been moved to Monday, August 31. The school year is not extended due to the later start date. You can find the revised school calendar here.

Will DCS require face coverings?
Yes, staff and students will be required to wear a face covering on buses and inside of our buildings. We will provide mask breaks for our younger learners. If your student cannot wear a mask for medical reasons, you will work with the school nurse to complete a mask exemption request.

What safety precautions will be in place to start school?
The district is assessing all areas of our district to ensure a safe and healthy start to school. Enhanced cleaning protocols, distancing classroom furniture, reducing the capacity on buses, alternate dining areas for lunch and increased hand washing and sanitizing are all part of our plan to help students and staff return to school in the safest way possible. Please review our healthy restart document for additional information. Also, each of our buildings will be sharing building-specific safety protocols as we near the start of the school year. This will include hallway transitions, cafeteria procedures, related arts schedules, parent drop off/pick up procedures, late sign ins/early sign outs, clinic procedures and more.

Will SACC operate during the school year?
SACC will operate at our buildings before and after school. Due to limited capacities, SACC will be available to students to attend in-person on each day. Additional information will be forwarded to families regarding SACC procedures and registration.

Will transportation be provided?
Yes, school transportation will be provided, however, we encourage parents to transport students to school when possible to assist in operating our buses with a reduced capacity. Masks will be required for all students and the driver while on the bus. Students will sit no more than two people to a seat (preferably siblings). All seats will be assigned. Only students who sign up to use school transportation will be permitted on the bus (no friends can ride home with the student). Students will load from back to front and unload from front to back. Families will need to elect to use bus transportation through our back to school forms.

Will the district assist families with devices?
Yes, the district will provide a device to students if one is not available at home. For students enrolled in our Online Academy, a staff member will contact each family to complete registration and inquire about device needs. For students attending school with our blended schedule, classroom teachers will assist in providing devices to families who may need one.

Is there a revised school supply list?
Our school supply lists can be found here. We will be limiting or eliminating shared supplies between students as much as possible. If shared supplies/equipment must be used, they will be disinfected between users.

How will lunch be structured?
With the implementation of the Blended Learning option, the number of students in the lunch periods will be reduced by approximately 50%. Principals are also working to add lunch periods to their schedules and/or identify additional spaces within their buildings to ensure proper distancing during lunch.

Will students have recess?
Schools will make every effort to maintain a recess time while following safety procedures. This may mean that schools will limit student access to certain pieces of playground equipment and restrict activities that are “high touch” and difficult to clean or maintain social distancing. Structured activities will be considered, and we will go outdoors as much as possible. Students will wash or sanitize their hands after recess.

Will field trips be held this year?
At this time, we have canceled all field trips for the first semester. We will evaluate field trips for second semester if health conditions improve. We will continue to engage students in virtual field trips and experiences.

How will visitors/volunteers be managed?
Visitors and volunteers will be limited for everyone's safety. Visitors are discouraged from being in school facilities without an appointment. We encourage everyone to conduct business via phone, email, or other technology sources when possible. Each school will share specific procedures if parents need to sign students in/out or drop off items during the day. We will be working toward a no-contact system for all visits.

How will students be screened for symptoms of COVID-19?
Parents are responsible for assessing their students' symptoms each day before they are sent to school. If a student arrives at school and appears ill, the school nurse will assess symptoms. Any student with a temperature of 100.4 or higher or displaying other symptoms of COVID-19 will be isolated and sent home immediately. The student may only return to school when they have been symptom free for 3 days.

How will parents be notified if there is a positive case of COVID-19 in the classroom/school?
Communication regarding staff or students who test positive for COVID-19 will be issued following the recommendations from the Delaware General Health District (DGHD) while maintaining privacy according to FERPA and HIPAA guidelines. Once we receive specific protocols from DGHD, we will share those with families.

Blended Learning Questions

What will be the daily structure for the Blended Learning option? What will students be doing during the at home learning days?
There will be two groups of students created at each building. Group A will attend school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and rotating Wednesdays. Group B will attend school on Thursdays, Fridays, and rotating Wednesdays. The groups will be created and communicated to families no later than August 3rd. On days the students are not in school, teachers will be providing learning activities through Canvas that will support the in-person instruction they receive. Those activities will utilize a combination of teacher created assignments and the digital learning tools available to our students at each grade level. Students will have flexibility as to when they complete the assignments during the Remote Learning Days. Please see the document posted on our website for additional Blended Learning schedules and instructional strategies.

Will at-home assignments be completely online?
Our teachers will be developing activities for the remote learning days within the Blended Learning option that will provide a balance between online work and other interactive learning activities. We understand the need to reduce screen time in our students lives and will work to ensure that balance is maintained in our remote learning days.

Will the online program being used for blended learning be the same platform/set up as the full online program?
Every teacher, whether in the Blended Learning or Online Academy environment, will have a fully developed course(s) in Canvas. Learning activities, announcements, and links to our digital resources for both the Blended Learning option and the DCS Online Academy will be available through Canvas. Additionally, teachers are going through training to align their course pages to templates that will provide students and families a consistent format from one class/teacher to the next.

Will the 5th grade Math Compaction class still be taking place or will it be done remotely or completely cancelled?
Math compaction services will continue this school year in the Blended Learning Model, however, we will not be bringing those students to Willis for their class. Students will remain in their school building and our Gifted Intervention Specialists will come to those buildings to work with our math compaction students.

What will class changing procedures be?
By going to a Blended Learning Model, we are reducing the number of students in each building by approximately 50% which will reduce congestion in our hallways during class changes. Each Principal and their building leadership team will be working on specific procedures for class changes in their school. Procedures regarding social distancing expectations, traffic patterns in the hallways, and class change timing, are among the many items being considered to protect the health and safety of our students and staff.
Online Academy Questions

Will honors and Advanced Placement courses be available within the DCS Online Academy?
Yes, students will have the opportunity to take the advanced courses they have requested for the coming school year within the Online Academy.

Will the online classes be live teaching or pre-recorded videos?
Online classes will be a combination of both live teaching (synchronous learning) and pre-recorded videos (asynchronous learning). Our DCS teachers will work with students and families to maximize the face-to-face virtual learning time to create the best possible instructional environment for our students.

Are separate teachers teaching in the Online Academy or are they the same teachers who are teaching in the Blended Learning option?
We will have teaching staff specifically devoted to working with our students in the Online Academy. We want the experience for students in both of the educational options to be the best learning environment possible. Once we have the final numbers of students enrolled in our Online Academy, we will determine the number of teachers needed for that environment.

Will Online Academy students be a part of a class or a student group that would allow them to have interactions with peers virtually (such as working together on Google Docs or talking on Google Meets/Zoom)?
Yes, part of the student’s school day within the Online Academy will allow them to interact with other students in their virtual classroom facilitated by our DCS teacher.

How will middle school and high school performing arts be incorporated into the DCS Online Academy?
The Performing Arts will be part of the DCS Online Academy option through our remote learning environment. Online Academy students will be included in the DCS teacher’s Canvas course for their specific performing arts class. Students will have the opportunity to participate in small group rehearsals and lessons during each performing arts teacher’s remote learning support period at the end of the middle school and high school academic days.

Will students in the Online Academy need to be online at particular times? Is there any flexibility for caregivers who are also trying to work from home?
There will be flexibility built into the Online Academy schedule to allow teachers and students to interact with each other and the curriculum at various times throughout the instructional week. Students and teachers would work together to identify the time and duration for each of the face-to-face virtual lessons and individual support activities. For additional information regarding the DCS Online Academy schedule, please see the document posted on this page.

Will Online Academy students have textbooks?
While the majority of the Online Academy work will be done through the use of digital learning tools, additional readings and books may be required for some courses and grade levels. Any textbooks or reading materials needed for the course will be provided to students.

The Sample Schedule for the Online Academy says it ends at 7:00 pm 2 days per week. Is that set in stone?
No, the sample schedule was put together to demonstrate that there will be flexibility to the schedule within the Online Academy. Students will work with their Online Academy teachers to determine when synchronous lessons, and small group/ individual meetings will take place.
Related and Performing Arts Questions

Will related arts programs at the elementary level be part of the Blended Learning option?
Yes, we are working closely with the elementary principals to coordinate the schedules of our related arts staff to create a safe learning environment for our students in art, music, physical education, and other related arts programs.

How will middle school and high school performing arts be incorporated into the DCS Online Academy?
The Performing Arts will be part of the DCS Online Academy option through our remote learning environment. Online Academy students will be included in the DCS teacher’s Canvas course for their specific performing arts class. Students will have the opportunity to participate in small group rehearsals and lessons during each performing arts teacher’s remote learning support period at the end of the middle school and high school academic days.

How will middle school and high school performing arts be incorporated into the Blended Learning option?
Students in the Blended Learning option will attend the performing arts class on their schedule on the assigned in-person days for their group. Each student will be enrolled in the Canvas course for their specific performing arts class. In order to ensure proper distancing protocols for the performing arts, only small groups of students will be participating in rehearsals and lessons on a rotating basis during the in-person days. The remaining students in the class will be completing activities within the Canvas course. Our principals will work closely with our performing arts staff to identify the rehearsal spaces, classroom spaces and staffing to supervise our students in these programs.

Will 5th Grade Strings be an option for students within the DCS Online Academy and Blended Learning option?
No, our elementary strings program will not be an option at this time. Due to increased safety protocols for our middle school and high school performing arts programs, we will be unable to offer 5th Grade Strings within the Online Academy and Blended Learning option. Students will be able to join Strings in 6th grade.
Preschool Questions

If you have specific questions regarding preschool services, please contact Mindy Burgeson (burgesme@delawarecityschools.net)

Are preschool students required to wear masks?

While preschool students are not required to wear masks, we strongly recommend them. More information will be coming from the Supervisor of Preschool and Preschool Special Education to families enrolled in the program with strategies to help your child get acclimated to wearing a mask.

Will virtual/online learning be provided for peer models who decide not to attend this school year or who were not accepted into the program?

No. Virtual/online learning opportunities will be provided only for preschool students with disabilities who are not able to attend school or for all enrolled preschool students in the event of a classroom, building, or district closing due to the pandemic.

How will you make the decision as to which peer models will be allowed to attend?

Based on rules and regulations from the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, our preschool program will reopen with a limited number of students. Based on current guidelines and our school district's restart plan, we will be opening with one peer model in most classrooms, as compared to the eight peer models we were able to have in each classroom prior to school closing due to the pandemic. As a result of this change, we have developed a system to determine which students will be offered peer model positions in the current program design. Students will be kept in the same session (AM or PM), but may not necessarily be able to stay with the same teacher if they attended our program last year. Peer model positions will be offered to families according to the following criteria:

1. Earliest date of enrollment in the preschool program

2. When students have the same enrollment date, we will determine the earliest date of application to be considered as a peer model (waitlist date).

3. If students have the same application date, we will determine the earliest date of completion of the peer model questionnaire.

Consideration of these three data pieces allows us to offer peer model positions to students in an equitable manner. Once the peer model positions have been filled, remaining families will be notified that their child will remain on our waitlist. If ODE/ODJFS increase our program capacity, we will fill additional peer model positions based on the criteria outlined above.
Special Education Questions

If you have specific question regarding Special Education Services, please contact Angie Macwhinney (macwhian@delawarecityschools.net)

What will special education services look like in the Blended model?
Special education services will be provided in the blended model. It is the expectation of the District that all services be provided either during the time your child is in our buildings and/or during the at-home learning days. While we do not have every detail worked out yet, the method for delivery will vary depending on the way services are outlined in your child’s IEP. We anticipate those methods will be one or a combination of the following face to face in our buildings, synchronous and/or asynchronous learning opportunities along with follow up activities assigned by the Intervention Specialist and/or related services provider.

What will special education services look like in the DCS Online Academy?
Special education services will be provided if your student elects the Online Academy. While we do not have every detail worked out yet, the method for delivery will vary depending on the way services are outlined in your child’s IEP. We anticipate those methods will be synchronous and/or asynchronous learning opportunities along with follow up activities assigned by the Intervention Specialist. It is possible that some IEP goals are written in a way that does not allow for them to be implemented as currently written (for example: a social goal that requires peers in a general education classroom setting). If this is the case we will hold a full IEP team meeting to discuss options for wording goals that we are able to implement in the online academic setting.

What if my child has a disability or medical condition and can not use the online learning platform due to their disability but I am not comfortable sending them into the school environment?
We will work with you on an individual basis to develop a plan that works for your child’s unique circumstances and needs. Please contact the following individuals to discuss alternative options for you child: Dempsey and Hayes: Krista Keipper keippekr@delawarecityschools.net; Elementary: Laura Shaw shawla@delawarecityschools.net; Preschool: Melinda Burgeson burgesme@delawarecityschools.net

When will related services (speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.) be implemented?
Some therapies are more conducive to virtual implementation than others. Your child’s therapist(s) will develop a plan and schedule and share it with families prior to the start of school. If you have a special request after the schedule has been provided you can contact your therapist to discuss your concerns.
Misc. Questions

Will statewide testing continue to be on hold as it was at the end of last year?
We are waiting on the Ohio Department of Education guidance regarding state testing for the 2020-21 school year. Once those announcements are made, we will incorporate the testing days into our building calendars and share the information about the testing schedules with our families.

Delaware City Schools

Achieving Excellence, Honoring Tradition

DCS Healthy Restart

Blended Learning Questions

Online Academy Questions

Related and Performing Arts Questions

Preschool Questions

Special Education Questions

Misc. Questions