COVID-19 Parent & Staff Update
Monday, April 19, 2021 3:45 PM
Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff:
Everyday is an important day to join together and support one another in confronting all sorts of challenges, big and small. As many of you know, the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial is expected to deliver a verdict in the coming days. In the interest of promoting a safe environment for student and staff transportation and other important concerns, we amplify an appeal for active peace that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has issued, that you can find here. Joining together -- and working together day by day -- I’m hopeful we can make real a time when calls for active peace become much less frequent in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
~~ Todd Reeves
Return to 5-Day On Campus Instruction
As a follow up to the SchoolMessenger sent out last week we are pleased that our on-campus program will be expanding to 5-days a week starting Friday April 30th.
As we return to a 5-day on campus program, we cannot continue to offer Friday virtual instruction to those students who are currently coming to school Mon-Thursday. We will continue to offer the virtual program to those students who are receiving instruction through this format Monday-Friday. This means that students will either attend our on-campus program 5-days a week or the virtual program 5-days a week.
We are happy that we can continue to offer the virtual program for those who need it. However, due to the complexity of offering both, we cannot have students attend campus some days and have virtual instruction on other days. For the on-campus students, if they do not come to school, they will be marked absent and will not receive virtual instruction that day.
We have notified your school district and transportation provider of this transition in our instructional model.
We will continue to operate on the Friday schedule so school time will continue to be 8:00-1:30 on Fridays.
New schedule for on campus face to face instruction starting April 30:
Monday-Thursday: 8:00-3:00
Friday: 8:00-1:30
Our virtual program remains the same.
Monday-Thursday: 8:00-3:00
Friday: 8:00-1:30
We thank you for all your support this school year and are eager to have our students return to campus 5 days a week.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jackie@obs.org or 215-877-0313, Ext. 215.
Parent & Staff Questions
Submit questions to healthandsafetyplan@obs.org.
Q.Where is the OSB Health & Safety plan located on the website?
A.The OSB Health and Safety Plan can be found at the link below.
OSB Health & Safety Plan
Q. Why does OSB not require individuals returning to work/school after being Covid-19 positive to provide proof of a negative Covid test result?
A. OSB is following the direction of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and their guidelines state that an individual is not required to provide a negative test result before returning.
Q. Is there a policy that states what the consequences are for a family or staff member(s) that does not follow the guidelines established by the school related to Covid-19?
A. As far as consequences for staff noncompliance, that is addressed in a temporary employee manual that has been developed specific to the pandemic and is in force for the length of the pandemic. One section deals with accidental and intentional noncompliance with pandemic safeguards. Roughly summarized, accidental noncompliance (forgetting to use a mask, etc.) starts with reminders/re-training and progresses from there, while intentional noncompliance results in discipline. For intentional noncompliance, it isn’t necessary to have a separate employee manual, because any intentional noncompliance with any directive — pandemic-related or not — constitutes insubordination and can result in disciplinary action.
With regard to parental noncompliance we are required to report any noncompliance to PDPH and they will follow up with the noncompliant individual(s).
Q. Does OSB utilize a Parent/Guardian Agreement Form to ensure parents don’t send their children to school when waiting for a Covid-19 test result?
A. No. PDPH does not recommend doing so. This form is only to be used by a parent who has a child with a confirmed positive Covid-19 case. The form ensures they don’t send the student back to school prior to meeting the isolation requirements.
Reminder of Important Dates
- 4/20 Earth Day. The Wednesday lunch menu will include Sustainable Pizza. Additional activities are planned for next week.
Resources
Reminder: File Taxes to Qualify for "American Rescue Plan" Funds
For more information, go to the Financial Resources page under Family Resources on our website.
Reminder: NEW in 2021- Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
For more information, go to the Financial Resources page under Family Resources on our website.
Sincerely,
Todd Reeves, Executive Director
Jackie Brennan, Superintendent
Angie Williams, Director of Health & Safety
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