See Our New Return to School Planning Guide
The District has published a 21-page Back to School Planning Guide that details every way our community will srive to be safe, healthy, flourishing and connected in the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
Like a vibrant patchwork quilt, every aspect of achieving these goals is pieced together to ensure our community is covered and cared for as we start a school year with full in-person instruction five days a week in all of our schools.
- The guide can be found at this link: www.ucityschools.org/2021ReturntoSchool
- The Return to School plan is also detailed on our COVID-19 website.
- When classes start on August 23, the District will maintain a COVID-19 Dashboard to provide a count of active cases and quarantines in the whole District and by school buildings.
The new guide details the District's safety and health protocols in addition to plans for social emotional wellness, rigorous and relevant instruction, racial equity, enrichment through athletics and other activities, and more. The guide further provides contact information by school, including principals, nurses and others. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions section at the end of the guide.
Please note, some details in the guide may change as the year progresses given the unpredictable nature of COVID-19. The District remains committed to science, public health metrics, and the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our medical expert partners at Washington University. The District will continue to work in collaboration with all of you to make sure our community remains fully informed.
"COVID-19 continues to disrupt and alter lives. We continue to deal with grief, increased levels of anxiety and depression, and hardships that partiularly impact our Black families," said Superintendent Sharonica Hardin-Bartley. "The plan addresses these challenging issues with our students, staff and families. It further uses scientifically proven safety and health strategies to prevent the spread of the virus in our community. We are confident we can move ahead with in-person instruction so our students flourish as learners and leaders under our vision of Learning Reimagined."
Here are some key points from the Return to School Planning Guide:
- In-person instruction will be held five days a week for all grades in all schools.
- A long-term, at home virtual learning option is available for students. However the district highly encourages students to attend in-person instruction in their school buildings.
- The District's new Return to School Guide is rooted in science, CDC guidelines and recommendations from our health experts at Washington University. The Guide may change as guidelines and recommendations change.
- Masking is required in all district buildings. Students in grades preK-12 must wear a face mask while in buildings.
- Physical distancing of 3 to 6 feet will continue in all buildings when possible.
- The District will no longer use a health screening app. Parents will be sent reminders every school morning to assess their children and household members for symptoms of COVID-19 before the start of the school day.
- The District asks that all individuals who qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine become vaccinated.
- The District will continue to provide free COVID-19 saliva testing for its students, staff and affiliated household members. The testing is available Sunday through Friday by calling 314-454-4269. For a complete list of drive-through testing locations, click here.
- All high school students and staff are encouraged to participate in weekly COVID-19 saliva testing. To register/consent for the high school weekly testing program, contact: SchoolTracing@wustl.edu. To learn more about the testing, click here. For FAQs, click here.
For more details, read the complete Back to School Guide.