REVISED: St. John Parish Public Schools announce tiered return to school plan

Published 10:05 am Sunday, October 10, 2021

A Message from Superintendent Dr. Lynett Hookfin:

In collaboration with SJAE, St. John the Baptist Parish Schools is communicating this revised return plan due to new information being released about the clearance and safety of additional school buildings. As previously communicated on September 24, 2021, we anticipated that at least three buildings would be cleared to support in-person learning beginning October 11. As we stated in our school board meeting Thursday, we have buildings that are cleared to open, yet there is a need to ensure that additional steps are taken to guarantee that our staff and scholars are safe.
Although our buildings have been cleared by mitigation teams and an industrial hygienist, our buildings will be inspected by a state fire marshal, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other teams to give their final stamp of approval for the official start of school. Not only does this give our parents and staff the assurance that they are safe, but it also allows an equitable start time for our campuses throughout the district. This revision will not only support guaranteed safety and equitable start dates, but it will also assist families with scholars who attend multiple school sites within our district.

We also communicated the importance of accurate scholar counts to plan for reopening in-person learning. The great news is that we have received a tremendous response to our enrollment verification survey, and over 4,000 scholars are ready to return to in-person learning. Again, we are modifying our return plan and dates to accommodate all scholars and provide an equitable schedule for all stakeholders due to the number of scholars returning to in-person learning in comparison to the number of buildings that are cleared for reopening.

As you know, our district area was one of the hardest-hit parishes in Southeast Louisiana, suffering storm damages and are steadily rebuilding during the Hurricane Ida aftermath. Although we have faced many unforeseen challenges in establishing full operations of schools such as internet access, displaced families and staff members, and technology resources, we are excited to reopen schools and welcome our scholars to return and focus on learning. We are hopeful with the information at this time that timelines will not need to be adjusted again until more schools are cleared for safe use. We appreciate your patience, flexibility and commitment to our district.

Opening Plan Beginning October 18, 2021
The following school sites will be available on October 18, 2021. In order to include all scholars in our return plan, we will have to utilize a platoon schedule. Platooning means scheduling students to share sites by either time of day or assigned days, affording in-person learning for
all scholars. In SJBP we will be sharing sites by time of day.

Cleared School Sites for Phase 1 Opening:
Fifth Ward Elementary
Lake Pontchartrain Elementary West St. John High
East St. John Preparatory Academy Leon Godchaux

Platoon Schedule:
Lake Pontchartrain Elementary (LPE) will be utilized as the host site for the following schools: Lake Pontchartrain Elementary, Emily C. Watkins, LaPlace Elementary. The following schools will report to LPE on the following platoon schedule:

Host Elementary School – Lake Pontchartrain Elem.

  • LaPlace Elementary K – 8th Grade 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM
  • Lake Pontchartrain Elem. All Grades 7:15 AM – 11:45 AM
  • Emily C. Watkins Elem. All Grades 7:15 AM – 11:45 AM

Fifth Ward Elementary will be utilized as the host site to the following schools: Fifth Ward Elementary and Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet. The following schools will report to FWE on the following platoon schedule:

Host Elementary School – Fifth Ward Elem. 

  • Fifth Ward Elementary All Grades 7:38 AM – 12:08 PM
  • Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet PreK Only 7:38 AM – 12:08 PM /  K-8th Grade 12:30 – 5:00 PM
  • LaPlace Elem. PreK Only 7:38 AM – 12:08 PM

East St. John Preparatory will be utilized to house the following schools: East St. John Preparatory and John L. Ory. The following schools will report to ESJP on the following platoon schedule:

Host School – East St. John Preparatory 

  • East St. John Preparatory All Grades 7:38 AM – 12:08 PM
  • John L. Ory All Grades 12:30 – 5:00 PM

Leon Godchaux will be utilized as the host site for the following schools:
East St. John High, STEM, and St. John Alternative Program (SJAP/Connections)
The following schools will report to Leon Godchaux on the following platoon schedule:

Host School  – Leon Godchaux 

  • East St. John High School 11th & 12th Grade and CTE 7:05 AM – 11:45 AM / 9th & 10th Grade Only 12:25 PM – 5:05 PM
  • STEM All Grades 7:05 AM – 11:45 AM
  • SJAP/Connections All Grades 12:25 PM – 5:05 PM

West St. John High School will be utilized as the host site for the following schools: West St. John High School and West St. John Elementary. The following schools will report to WSJH on the following platoon schedule:

Host School – West St. John High

  • West St. John High School All Grades 7:20 AM – 11:50 AM
  • West St. John Elementary PreK-7th grade 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM / Early Childhood (3yr old) will be virtual

Virtual Academy for K-8 and High School will begin on October 18, 2021.

A comprehensive virtual plan will be communicated to all stakeholders by October 13, 2021. Laptops and Hotspots will be distributed for displaced virtual scholars as follows:

School Site Date Time
STEM 10/11/21 8 -10
WSJH 10/11/21 10 -11:30
WSJE 10/11/21 10 -11:30
ESJH 10/11/21 1 -3:30
ECW 10/12/21 8 -10
LPE 10/12/21 10 -11:30
LES 10/12/21 1 – 3:30
FWE 10/13/21 8 -10
ESJP 10/13/21 8 -10
SJA 10/13/21 10 -11:30
GMMS 10/13/21 1 – 2
JLO 10/13/21 2 -3:30
ALL SITES-Additional hours- if you couldn’t make your scheduled time 10/14/21 8 – 12
AND 1:30-3
ALL SITES (Saturday) 10/16/21 9 -12

Phase 2 Building Openings

(This is tentative and subject to change depending on clearance of buildings by the Department of Health and Hospitals and the State Fire Marshal)
The following school sites may be able to open by November 1, 2021:

• Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet
• John L. Ory
• West St. John Elementary Early Childhood building only (Headstart through 3rd Grade)
If these schools are certified and clear to open by November 1, 2021, a revised plan will be communicated to all stakeholders.

Phase 3 Building Openings

(This is tentative and subject to change depending on clearance of buildings by the Department of Health and Hospitals and the State Fire Marshall)
The following school sites have an undetermined opening date as of October 8, 2021:
• East St. John High School
• STEM
• Emily C. Watkins
• Laplace Elementary
• West St. John Elementary

Calendar Updates:
A revised 21-22 school year calendar will be released soon. For your planning purposes, we want to share some revisions that have been determined at this time:
• All Professional Development Days will now be instructional days
• Two and/or Three required asynchronous learning days (self-paced learning tasks on your time) have been added to the following holidays:
o Thanksgiving – Monday 11/22 and Tuesday 11/23
o Christmas – Monday 12/20 and Tuesday 12/21
o Mardi Gras – Thursday 3/3 and Friday 3/4
o Easter – Wednesday 4/20, Thursday 4/21, and Friday 4/22
**Assignments will be due at midnight on the return date

• School Year will end June 7 (This is tentative and subject to change)

Transportation:
SJBP Transportation Department will continue to provide safe, reliable and efficient transportation for ALL scholars to and from schools. All Bus Routes have been designed based on the physical address provided to the district’s office. We will try to maintain all our original routes and bus stops, with the understanding of some routes having to be adjusted based on the needs of our scholars and schools. Please check the transportation department page for updates to routes. Transportation Hotline (985) 536-7790 will be operated by staff members starting on October 8 –October 25, 2021 between 6 am – 5 pm weekdays. To ensure a positive bus experience and for the safety of all our scholars, they must follow the rules and direction of their bus driver. Our drivers will give assigned seats and have seating charts for contact tracing. Parents and guardians are encouraged to remind scholars to dress appropriately for the weather. Please be patient and flexible as we strive to provide safe and excellent transportation for all scholars and SJBP.

Child Nutrition:
Morning Shift Students will receive 2 meals – breakfast and lunch Afternoon Shift Students will receive 2 meals – lunch and supper
Scholars will receive meals that help to maintain a healthy body weight. All scholars will receive these meals FREE of charge.

Student Dress Code:
Uniforms shall be worn to the greatest extent possible. Scholars who are not in uniform shall meet expectations for respectful dress and adhere to the dress down guidelines set by the district which includes the following:
Top – no crop tops, tank tops, profanity, spaghetti straps
Bottoms – no holes, and shorts, skirts must be no shorter than 2 inches above the knee Shoes – fully enclosed front and back
See the full guidelines in the student handbook.

Student Medications:

In compliance with the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy and U.S. Pharmacopeia guidance, student medications that were stored in our school buildings during Hurricane Ida must be discarded and replaced. Each school nurse will provide a form for parents/guardians to complete when bringing in replacement medication(s). This applies to all forms of medications including but not limited to oral, liquid, creams, insulin, and emergency medications (i.e. inhalers, Epi-Pen, Glucagon). Please contact the school nurse via email for any questions or concerns and to schedule medication sign-in.

Face Coverings:

The Governor’s statewide mask mandate order remains in place. All employees and students are required to wear a mask indoors while on school system properties.

COVID Quarantine Guidance:

SJBP has consulted with our medical partner Ochsner and will continue to Quarantine close contacts as per their advice.

Curriculum
SJBP educators have access to all resources needed to provide quality Tier 1 Curricular instruction to all scholars.

Diverse Learners
Diverse learners will be afforded IEP, 504, and EL accommodations to ensure instructional equity and access to the curriculum.

Before and After School Care Information
SJBP is diligently working on a plan to be able to offer childcare. Information is forthcoming.

Post Ida Re-Opening Information FAQ
Submit any Questions/Concerns below
Link- https://forms.office.com/r/58mKPQAtfn