Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services
This plan is intended to be a simplified strategic framework for returning students, staff, and administrators to in-person instruction and activity for the 2022-23 school year.
This plan was submitted to and reviewed by Tarrant County Public Health officials in July 2021 and will be reviewed every six months and updated as needed.
Prevention and Mitigation
- All members of the campus community should self-screen for illness, including COVID-19, each day before boarding a bus or entering school property.
- Vaccinations continue to be widely available; interested families can get additional information from Tarrant County Public Health.
- Good hygiene practices will support health and wellness for our students, staff, and guests.
- Good hand hygiene includes hand washing often.
- Everyone should always cover all coughs and sneezes.
- Hand sanitizer will be available in classrooms and common areas.
- Cleaning high-touch surfaces can also reduce the risk of transmission of communicable diseases, including COVID-19.
- Custodial services will enhance cleaning of doorknobs, tables, and other high-touch surfaces in common areas, restrooms, and high-traffic areas.
- If someone is sick or has tested positive for COVID-19, the District custodial staff will disinfect frequently touched surfaces and concentrate on areas occupied by the person who is reported to be positive.
- Cloth face coverings or masks are optional and not required for students, staff, or guests at Keller ISD. The CDC currently recommends unvaccinated individuals 2 years old and older wear a face covering or mask in public spaces.
District Response
- When a student or employee tests positive or is diagnosed with COVID-19, then he/she must remain home until completing the required isolation protocol. Self-screening tools are available for students and staff.
- Teachers will be provided recognition training for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for quick detection in the classroom and on campus. Teachers and staff are NOT meant to diagnose, but to be a reporter of concern for COVID-like symptoms, as needed, and trained nurses will provide clinical assessments and follow the process for parent contact, contact tracing and reporting.
- Contact tracing of students is initiated by the trained staff of the Health Services Department. Nurses will lead this effort and will be supported by campus administration, and District emergency response staff.
- The Keller Independent School District does not intend to manage close contact quarantines in the 2022-23 school year. Known close contacts and exposures will be reported to the health department as requested by Tarrant County Public Health and exposure notifications will be shared with parents of close contacts. It is recommended under current CDC guidance that unvaccinated close contacts enter quarantine, or not return to school, work, or interact with others for a period after a close contact exposure.
- Per current public health requirements, KISD will report COVID positive cases idenetified through District and/or other testing programs.
Mental Health Support
To aid in the transition between virtual learning and full in-person learning, the Keller ISD Guidance and Counseling Department will follow a response-to-intervention framework that encompasses a comprehensive school counseling program. The foundation of programming will be assessed through the delivery of solid tier one guidance program delivery. Additionally, students and families will receive individual academic planning opportunities with school counselors throughout the school year.
The response-to-intervention plan relies on four components of comprehensive guidance programming:
- Guidance Curriculum
- Responsive Services
- Individual Planning
- System Support
Instructional Services
Keller ISD will offer in-person instruction for all students during the 2022-23 school year. We will continue to offer virtual options that were in place prior to COVID-19 for our secondary students. Adjustments have been made to our curriculum to support teachers and students in closing academic gaps, including students with disabilities. Summer learning opportunities were offered to students with academic gaps, and a variety of options for learning opportunities will be available to our families during the upcoming year. Students who were not successful on our state assessments during the 2021-22 school year will be provided accelerated instruction throughout the 2022-23 school year.
We look forward to partnering with our KISD families to ensure academic success for all students.
Revised June 2022