Isolation rooms, sign-in kiosks: How Tacoma is prepping schools for in-person learning
Andre Stout, principal at Truman Middle School in Tacoma, is eagerly awaiting his students to safely return to the classroom.
“I miss my kids,” he told The News Tribune as he stood inside an empty Truman earlier this week.
As COVID-19 cases slowly ease in Pierce County, that could be some time fairly soon. This week, the health department said that if its 14-day case count continues to drop, some elementary schools could open as early as this month.
In the meantime, Stout and his team have been prepping Truman for their safe return.
Already, yellow arrows mark a path from Truman’s bus drop-off zone — bus arrivals will be staggered — to the specific entry students are to use to get into the building.
“We’ve prepped this whole building up,” Stout said.
Sign-in kiosks
Try to go to a Tacoma school right now, and you’ll be met with a sign-in kiosk at the front door.
The computer asks visitors whether they’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or have been in contact with someone who has. If they answer yes to any of the questions, they’re asked to stay home.
The questionnaire is required, said district spokesperson Dan Voelpel, to help the department of health with contact tracing in the event of an outbreak at the school.
To avoid a massive line at the beginning of each school day, families will be asked to fill out the questionnaire daily before coming to school.
Isolation rooms
Despite asking students to stay home if sick, things don’t always go according to plan.
Some students already might be at school and start to feel sick. The district has prepared “isolation rooms” just in case.
There are two isolation rooms at Truman — one that can accommodate one student and staff member and one that can accommodate about three students and a staff member.
Stout said plastic will be placed over cabinets to make clearing isolation rooms easier. Staff also is trying to keep limited furniture inside rooms so as to reduce the number of items to clean.
Desks spread apart
At Truman, workers are spreading desks to be at least 6 feet apart.
For many rooms, that means many desks and chairs that are not needed are pushed to the side of the room.
Stout estimates it takes his staff about 45 minutes per classroom to make the correct measurements and organize the desks. There are about 40 classrooms at Truman, he said.
In Tacoma’s hybrid reopening plan, the number of students attending school in-person will be staggered. For middle schools like Truman, that means students will be split into two groups and attend two in-person days and spend the other three days distance learning, cutting the number of students in the building at one time by half.
Staff also has spent the week cleaning classrooms from top to bottom.
“I’ve never seen a crew clean like my crew has cleaned,” Stout said.
Any fabric chairs that were used in offices or meeting rooms have been moved or turned against the wall, Stout added, because they are harder to clean.
In Truman’s main office, a red stain can be seen on the wall where red fabric chairs have been removed. They’re replaced by black plastic chairs.
More to do
Not everything is ready to go, Stout said.
A decision has not been made on where students will eat lunch, for example. It largely depends on how many students return and whether the lunch room has the capacity to socially distance them.
It’s easier for elementary students to eat in their classrooms because they have the same teacher for the entire day, Voelpel said.
The teacher union, Tacoma Education Association, and the district have more bargaining to do before completing an agreement for returning to school.The two parties agreed to pause negotiations until at least Sept 14.
“The elements required for us to return to school for remote instruction have been completed — remote learning, leaves and substitutes,” said TEA president Shannon Ergun. “We have not completed negotiations on the transition process from remote to hybrid and the details around the hybrid model.”
Tacoma won’t be transitioning into its hybrid model for at least a few weeks — even when the health department gives the green light, Tacoma has given itself a three-week transition period.
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 5:10 AM.
