Weekly COVID-19 Q&A: 1/22/21

On episode 50 of the MITW Podcast, we had a Q&A Session with Vaughn Bowles, the Public Information Officer, regarding COVID-19. Topics for discussion include: New COVID-19 Variant update, Vaccinating Elders, and Vaccinating Students and Teachers, Reopening Menominee Tribal School and Menominee Indian School District, Second dose of COVID-19 Vaccine, and President Biden’s Face mask mandate on Federal Lands..  Menominee Tribal School Plans: Menominee Tribal School is offering a re-entry plan due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases on the Menominee Indian Reservation.   We have developed a 3 step process to utilize throughout the school year based on COVID-19 positive case numbers, and based on the risk of COVID-19 to students, staff and community. Both students and staff will be required to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines.  Step 1 Students will return to in school scheduling by grade level to help reduce the number of people in the building. This will allow students to enter the building in a safe manner where staff can build strong relationships and ease fear, while administering the beginning of the year assessment. There will only be one grade level present in the school building per day. On the day that they are assigned to come in, each grade level will be broken into several, separate, small groups (labeled A-F in the table below) with no more than 5 students per group. These students will be allotted a certain amount of time at each station and will attend every station throughout the school day. Students will rotate from station to station throughout the day. On the days that students are not required to attend school, classroom teachers will work on setting up communication with students and family, technology support for students, and preparation for curriculum. Teachers will also have work provided for these students to take home and work on. *Bussing will be needed* Assessment Schedule - 1 Grade Level Per Day January – February 12th/Pending COVID cases  Testing Schedule by Day:  Aug 28-Sept 10Day                                 GradeFriday, Jan 22nd             2nd GradeMonday, Jan 25th          5th GradeTuesday, Jan. 26th          3rd GradeWednesday, Jan 27th     4th GradeThursday, Jan 28th         8th GradeFriday, Jan 29th              KindergartenMonday, Feb 1st             7th GradeTuesday, Feb 2nd           1st GradeWednesday, Feb 3rd       6th GradeThursday, Feb 4th          2nd GradeFriday, Feb 5th                5th GradeMonday Feb 8th             3rd GradeTuesday Feb 9th             4th GradeWednesday Feb 10th     8th GradeThursday Feb 11th         KindergartenFriday Feb. 12th              7th Grade  IF COVID CASES CONTINUE TO RISE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE ONE GRADE PER DAY IN THE SCHOOL BUILDING ON A TWO WEEK ROTATION UNTIL IT IS SAFE TO RETURN.  THE SCHEDULE FOR STUDENTS WILL SWITCH TO ACADEMIC PROGRAMING.  Step 2Students will return to school on a rotating A day/B day schedule.  This schedule allows the students to begin to return to school on a regular basis, while still taking social distancing and safety precautions.  On the days that students are not required to attend, teachers will be working on establishing a virtual classroom and preparing lessons for students both in and out of the classroom.  They will also be working on establishing relationships with families, making sure that they are on board with the current plan and do not have any questions.      A and B Rotation SchedulePending COVID cases  | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |  A |  A |  B |  B |  Online |  A |  A |  B |  B |  Online |  A |  A |  B |  B |  Online   A Group                                            B GroupKindergarten                                     2nd Grade1st Grade                                          3rd Grade5th Grade                                          4th Grade7th Grade                                          6th Grade 8th Grade                     Step 3 Students and staff will continue by following the Menominee Tribal School 2020-2021 School Year Calendar, which was already approved, with a class size of 9. School COVID 20-21 ScheduleAll schedules and plans will follow our previously approved health and social distancing protocols. Menominee Indian School District Plans:  (Keshena, Wis.)  Like many school districts, Menominee Indian School District has been adjusting its educational delivery model as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Teachers returned to their classrooms on Jan. 4 while continuing to teach and meet virtually with their students. Now, starting Feb. 1, some students will return to school for in-person learning.   “Since the pandemic began, we’ve relied on our COVID dashboard as well as information from, and meetings with, our Emergency Pandemic Response Team,” explained MISD Superintendent Wendell Waukau. “We know students and their families want to be back in school, but we had to make sure it could be done safely. We’ve adjusted things as we’ve gone along, and now we’re ready to bring back some in-person learning opportunities.” The new delivery model will include:• Keshena Primary School (KPS) returning to four days a week, in-person classes. • Menominee Indian Middle School (MIMS) giving their students and families the option of remaining 100% virtual or returning for a combination approach with two days a week being virtual and the other two days a week in-person with cohort group.  • Menominee Indian High School (MIHS) remaining 100% virtual. • Distance Learning Support Center services will continue to be available for all students. Infection control a...