Return to School: Fall 20/21

1. Some families have asked if we could do a five day a week schedule, instead of a “split schedule.”
Our first priority continues to be Health & Safety. We plan to follow the guidance set by Sacramento County Public Health, and the Center for Disease Control, who recommend keeping six feet of social distancing. To do this, we have to reduce the number of students in the classroom, which requires some form of split schedule. We know this is a big change, and we ask for your patience as we protect the health of our teachers, students, staff and community. We promise that we are working toward Level 4: Increased Capacity as quickly as we can.

2. I don’t think we are in a safe zone to go back to school.
Westlake continues to work closely with Sac County Public health to monitor COVID numbers and current guidance on when and how to safely reopen school.

3. What if I choose return and it is still not safe to return, or I don’t feel it is safe to return?
If you select for your student to return to campus in person in January, and you change your mind, you will be able to continue in distance learning. It will be important for you to communicate with your teacher and give them time to prepare for your child to transition to full-time Distance Learning. However, once you have transitioned, you will only have the opportunity to return at the next checkpoint, for example, after February Break.

4. Will kindergarten need to wear a face covering on campus as well?
To support the health and safety of everyone, at this time, all staff and students will wear a face covering while on campus.

5. If COVID-19 is positively found, how will the school react?
WCS will follow the Sacramento County Public Health guidelines regarding exposure to COVID-19. This will be detailed in our Guidebook to Reopening that will be published on 11/15/2020

1. We ask that you allow special education aids on campus as they are essential workers.
We value all members of our staff and look forward to bringing everyone back on campus following health and safety guidelines.

2. I think the school consider a live instruction model to allow students at home and at school to learn simultaneously.
This is a topic that we’ve worked closely with our leadership team of teachers to develop a model that is realistic and developmentally appropriate. We plan on opening in 5th-8th grade in a model where live instruction is happening simultaneously. In grades Kinder-4th grade we plan on opening so teachers can focus their entire attention on students in the classroom in the morning and virtually meet with students after lunch. We look forward to adapting and developing innovative practices as time goes on to continually meet the needs of our community.

3. Curious about what the classrooms will look like. Our 7th grader would like to know what your plan is to keep students safe. Will there be small groups or all in one class. He also wants to know if there are small groups- can he request to be with particular students. Will the students have the same classes and teachers they have now?
We continue to keep health and safety the center of all the decisions we make. With our Baseline schedule, having cohorts of students on campus at one time allows us to reduce the number of students to small groups of no more than 14 and maintain 6ft distance in a classroom setting. Students will continue to have the same classes and teachers they have now. More information regarding the middle school model and schedule will be published in our reopening guide on 11.15.2020

1. Is plexi glass being considered as an alternative to wearing masks in the classroom? If cost is a consideration, I know myself and other parents would be willing to donate.
Our team has looked into plexiglass and is considering the possibilities for classroom use. Sacramento County Public Health advises to use face coverings and six feet distance in the classroom setting. In instances when visitor interaction, such as the front office, is necessary to use plexiglass.

2. When will we know if the projected January Return to School date is a go?
We continue to work closely with our community to determine a safe reopening date. While we anticipate a January date, we will continue to work in collaboration with Sacramento County Public Health to make sure it is safe to do so.

3. If school opens inJanuary how many hours are kids going to be in school? Is it going to be a full school day? Thanks.
On Campus Start & End Times:
Kindergarten 9:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m.
1st-3rd grades 8:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
4th-8th grades 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

On Campus instruction will be provided during the outlined times above. Additional instructional minutes will take place through synchronous (live) and asynchronous (independent) Distance Learning

4. Is there a possibility that in person time will be extended beyond a couple of hours? How does the in person help working parents when they are only gone a couple of hours? How much interaction will the students get with each other when only together for such a short period of time?
While we agree that there are so many limitations to the current Baseline schedule, we know we have to start somewhere. We look forward to supporting academics and the social emotional well being of our students given the current model we have. We are committed to continued innovation to support our community as time goes on.

5. Can you please continue to push for lunches and breakfasts to be free? Anything you can do to help parents financially whose kids are at base right now we would really appreciate it.
Great news! The free meals program has been extended through June 20, 2021!

6. Does this mean that you have decided that you definitely won’t be opening before January?
As a K-8 school, we currently plan on reopening in January.

7. How do we know what Cohort the student is in?
The cohorts that were emailed to families in August are the same cohorts that we will use in January. We will resend cohort information to families in December, but if you need to confirm your cohort before then, please email admin@westlakecharter.com

8. Can you extend dismissal to 12:30 or 1?
School will continue to be a combination of on campus and synchronous/asynchronous distance learning until 1:15pm. In our Baseline model, on campus students will be released at 11:30 (1st-8th) and 11:00 (Kinder) to allow all students to receive equitable instruction, no matter what cohort the student is in. We will continue to grow in our future models to meet the needs of our community.

9. Is there a change in class teacher? And do we need to return the chrome book?
All students will keep their same teachers for the entire 2020-2021 school year, whether they return to campus, or continue in distance learning. This was a priority for our team for the social emotional well being of our students and staff. If you have checked out a chromebook for the school you can continue to use it for Distance Learning and will also be asked to bring it to and from campus to use it in class as well.

10. I thought Natomas school district was going to return to school November 15?
NUSD continues to work to determine a reopening date. Westlake will continue to collaborate with our community partners to determine a reopening date as well.

11. What if my both my kids have different schedules can I change for them to be the same and AM?
Great question. Your students should have the same cohort and orientation schedule. If they are different, please email admin@westlakecharter.com with your students’ names, grade level, and teacher.

12. The first list that came out with the cohorts lists A or B and also if the student is AM or PM so it sounds like based off the video AM or PM doesn’t really matter, just the cohort part does?
That is correct. When returning to our Baseline model, you will be using the Cohort information to determine what day you will be coming to campus.

1. Will the Wednesday BASE be available during Baseline? If so, how will cohorts be separated?
We will have a BASE outline in our Guidebook to Reopening that will be published on 11/15/2020