The Ponca City Board of Education met for their regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 14.

Superintendent Shelley Arrott provided the board with the Ponca City Public School’s plan for the 2021 to 2022 school year.

The plan will involve a return to the regular 2021-2022 school calendar and students will attend in-person each school day unless they are enrolled as a Ponca City Virtual Academy student.

Unless a state of emergency is ordered by the Governor, the Kay County Health Department advises intermittent closure or the school moves to higher risk levels, the following daily occurrences will resume with as much distancing as possible: regular lunch schedules; visitors, including parents and guests, will be allowed in buildings; face-to-face parent/teacher conferences will resume, with arrangements for Zoom or phone conferences when necessary; field trips and travel; community use of facilities according to Board of Education policy will resume; and all regular activities, assemblies, class meetings, live staff meetings and administrative council meetings.

Masks are recommended unless consultation or recommendation from the Kay County Health Department determines the need for a mandate or a state of emergency is recommended by the Governor of Oklahoma.

By federal order, masks are required for all public transportation networks, the current federal order is in effect through Sept. 13, 2021. This includes the following modes of transportation with more than one person in the vehicle: school buses and school vehicles.

There will be accommodations and exemptions in the event of a mask mandate. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may remove a face covering for the duration of time as is necessary to communicate or interact directly with the individual. Consideration should be given to using a clear face covering in this situation.

Persons with a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a mask must wear a face shield, likewise, those with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance must wear a face shield.

Persons who are obtaining a service involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service, such as speech therapy.

Facilities will be marked to show the recommended distance of three to six feet in seating and standing areas wherever possible throughout the school district. In classrooms, students will be seated in pods and distanced to minimize exposure as much as possible. Seating charts are required and updated in every classroom.

Expanded lunch schedules and spacing will allow for distancing during lunch and breakfast.

Students will be distanced on school buses and school vehicles as much as possible, and seating charts will be required for every bus and vehicle.

Students are trained and will be reminded regularly about the benefits of proper and frequent hand washing with soap and water, as well as respiratory etiquette continually being reinforced, including coughing or sneezing into the elbow or covering mouth completely.

It’s Nanoed, a brand of alcohol free hand sanitizer, that is comparable to a liquid bandage and lasts for up to eight hours, will be available at all entrance points, common areas and offices. Hand sanitizing stations will also be available in every classroom with at least 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Ponca City Schools will continue with increased cleaning of the facilities to protect students, staff and visitors. MeTEOR Education CASPR Compact Plus units will be available in every classroom. The CASPR units are NASA developed technology that provide continuous air and surface pathogen reduction. These units will not only reduce COVID-19 pathogens, but are also effective against flu, strep, staph and mold.

It’s Nanoed Barrier Surface Protection will be utilized through industrial misting and fogging equipment to sanitize gyms, weight rooms, cafeterias and buses. The Barrier Surface Protection will stay active 30 days or more on surfaces, even with continued cleaning protocols applied.

If intermittent closure occurs, students will automatically transition to distance learning, supported by the regular classroom teacher. Each family that does not have access to reliable internet service or a device will be provided a hot spot and a device to use during intermittent closures.

Students will be able to access assignments through Google Classroom at home, and in some cases, teachers may present live lessons through document cameras or Zoom.

The calendar will not be altered for intermittent closure as these days will be counted as instructional days and completion of assignments will be monitored for attendance purposes.

Parents can help to mitigate the spread by keeping children home if they have a fever of 100 degrees or higher and pick up students promptly if the school calls indicating they have a fever of 100 degrees or higher. If a student has had direct exposure to a family member with a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case, they will be quarantined for 10 days, this quarantine will be a directive of the health department.