Taking Care of You

  • We have two goals at Wylie ISD:

    1. Take care of kids.
    2. Take care of teachers and staff.

    Rest assured that we have taken teacher concerns to heart in our process of re-opening schools. Your and your family’s safety is a priority. All of our plans have been made in close collaboration with area districts, the County, the State, and TEA. We have presented every part and taken feedback from your campus administrators. We have actively sought best practices with you and your students in mind.

    We want to do all we can to support you in your classroom, whether you are an instructor for On Campus Learners, Remote Learners, or both.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Personal Protective Equipment

  • Will employees be required to wear masks?

  • Will students be required to wear masks?

  • What if we forget to bring our mask? What about students?

  • What if a student or employee refuses to wear a mask?

  • Will there be a dress code for masks?

  • Will class sizes be smaller to accommodate a six foot distancing?

  • What about teachers with tables instead of desks?

Sanitation

  • Will teachers be responsible for cleaning between classes?

  • Who will provide the cleaning supplies?

  • How often will staff restrooms be cleaned?

  • Will staff members be required to sanitize staff restrooms after use? If so, how?

  • Will biohazard boxes be placed in each classroom, so we can dispose of masks appropriately?

  • Will we move to paperless learning due to contamination?

Screening

  • Will student temperatures be measured as they come in? By whom?

Contact Tracing

  • What is the policy for contact tracing?

  • If someone in my class is exposed to COVID, who is quarantined?

  • If I have to be quarantined, does that use my sick days?

  • What if I’m quarantined again, we don’t have that many sick days?

  • If my spouse or child is exposed, am I quarantined? Does that use my sick days?

  • Will students and teachers be required to test and show proof of testing after quarantine?

COVID Testing

  • What happens when parents can’t pay to have their children tested?

  • Will COVID testing be available at schools for staff and students?

  • What number of students and teachers have to become infected with COVID-19 before campuses are required to close?

Substitutes

  • Am I required to make plans for a substitute if I am under mandatory quarantine?

  • What are my professional responsibilities while quarantined?

  • What happens when we don’t have enough subs?

  • Will substitutes earn more money since the risk of infection is so high?

  • Will substitutes be trained on new protocols?

  • Will teachers be discouraged from taking any days off throughout the year?

Specific At Risk Concerns

  • What if a teacher becomes pregnant? Are they still required to teach in person?

  • Will small children and babies be viewed as high risk and their parents considered for remote learning or accommodations?

Lunch & Passing Periods

  • How will Power Hour/Mega Lunch be modified?

  • Will recess be modified? Lunch?

  • Will teachers be guaranteed their 30 minute duty free break?

  • Will teachers be guaranteed their conference period?

Remote Learning Teaching

  • How will teachers be chosen regarding virtual teaching?

  • Will teachers be in charge of Remote Learning and On Campus Learning?

  • If a teacher does not feel comfortable coming into school due to potential exposure, can they opt to teach from home? Will they be guaranteed their job?

  • What are the options for staff who may live with immunocompromised individuals that are not immediate family members?

  • Should officials call a Stay-At-Home Order and Wylie ISD pivots to Remote Learning, can I bring my personal children to work with me?

Grading & Academic Policies

  • How will we hold students accountable that choose Remote Learning?

  • Will we be using a “grace over grades” policy again?

  • How will Remote Learning expectations change for students and teachers?

Transfer Requests

  • Will consideration be given to allowing staff to enroll their own children in the district where they work in order to allow their children to follow the same schedule as the employed parent?

Student Services

  • How will we encourage parents not to send their children to school sick? Will attendance be flexible?

  • Will families need to sign waivers of disclosure if they’ve been exposed or tested?

  • Can a teacher ask a student if they have been tested for COVID-19?

  • If a child is exposed to COVID at school due to the child taking their mask on and off during the day, is the teacher responsible for this? Would families be allowed to sue?

  • Will staff meetings and professional development be done virtually?

Transportation

  • Will buses be sanitized after each use? Will students be skipping every other seat? How are bus drivers going to monitor distancing, masks, etc. while driving?

Teaching & Learning

  • Guided reading groups are composed of small groups in the early grades. Will we still be expected to form guided reading groups if small group instruction is discouraged/not permitted? How will teachers conduct 1-on-1 reading assessments?

  • How will teachers stay in the Power Zone and adequately monitor students while staying six feet apart?

  • How will science labs be handled? It is hard to distance during a lab. Will the teacher be responsible for sanitizing aprons and goggles between each class as well as any lab materials? Can we use kids to help sanitize?

  • How will culinary, music, band, and choir be held without risking students’ and teachers’ health?

  • How will CTE classes, art, and PE be held without community supplies?

  • If I am a “singleton” teacher and the only one who teaches my content and I have underlying health conditions, will I be required to teach in a face-to-face setting?

Safety & Security

  • Will we still be having fire drills? Lock down drills? Those require students to be closer than six feet.

  • Will we have staggered start times? At the high school level, how will we handle passing periods? Will teachers be required to be in the hallways during passing periods?

Teacher Evaluations

  • Will teachers be evaluated? Will the evaluation tools be altered for a less collaborative environment?

Special Education

  • Will ARDs and 504s be conducted over the phone to limit the number of people coming into the building?

  • Will there be an anonymous/safe place to report other professionals who do not adhere to safety guidelines?

Athletics

  • If sporting events are held, will there be a communication tool for schools to use to inform each other of infection and exposure?

  • Can a school legally inform another school of a COVID infection of a student in a specific program?

  • How will contact sports resume safely? What will be the protocol for the locker rooms?

  • Will students who choose Remote Learning be able to participate in activities like golf, football, debate, etc?

  • Are families allowed to change their mind and bounce back and forth between online and in person learning?

Breaks & Travel

  • Will the 2020-2021 calendar be changed to provide one long break from Thanksgiving to January?

  • Will staff be permitted to travel? Will staff need to inform the district of any travel?

State Accountability

  • How will students take district assessments if they are remotely learning? How will they take STAAR?