Falmouth Schools Release First Steps To Reopening Plan

FALMOUTH, MA — School officials announced they received state guidelines for the reopening of schools this fall and detailed what needs to be included in the plan.

Schools have until July 31 complete and submit a preliminary reopening plan and then must provide finalized planning documents no later than Aug. 10 to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations. Schools statewide were instructed to come up with plans for in-person, remote and hybrid learning.

Superintendent Lori Duerr said a safe return to school requires everyone in the community to continue paying attention as health and safety guidelines evolve over the next six-to-seven weeks of summer. She said that vigilance will be needed once schools reopen to keep coronavirus numbers low and keep the schools open.

"DESE emphasized that even as we remain vigilant, and public health metrics in Massachusetts remain positive, the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in school will not be zero," Duerr said in a statement. "As a reminder from earlier guidance, it is not one strategy but a combination of all strategies that will substantially reduce the risk of transmission when we are allowed to return to school."

Duerr also highlighted some key parts of the reopening strategy to limit the spread of COVID-19 at Falmouth Public Schools. The strategies included:

• Staff must monitor themselves for symptoms daily.
• Students, with the assistance of families, must be monitored daily for symptoms.
• Staff and students must stay home if feeling unwell.
• Students grade 2 and above and all staff must wear masks that adequately cover both their nose and mouth
• Younger children are strongly encouraged to wear masks.
• Exceptions will be made for students with medical, behavioral, or other challenges who are unable to wear masks/face coverings.

School officials also provided a document that goes into more detail on when a student should stay home, how long and how their education will continue while in quarantine.

Students should stay home if they exhibit any of the following symptoms:

• Fever (100.4° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
• Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Headache when in combination with other symptoms
• Muscle aches or body aches
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
• Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
• Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

If staff or students have any of these symptoms, they must get a coronavirus test prior to returning to school. Students and faculty can be tested at the following sites:

• Falmouth Hospital Triage Tent; phone 508-862-5595
• Convenient MD, Falmouth; phone 774-255-3010 and hours of operation 8:00am-8:00pm Mon-Sun
• CVS East Falmouth Minute Clinic; hours of operation 8:00am-8:00pm Mon-Fri / 9:00am-6:00pm Saturday / 9:00am-5:00pm Sunday

Read more about Massachusetts school reopening guidelines here.