Waiver Application for 2020-2021 School Reopening
8/19/20 disclaimer: Per our School Director’s call with Orange County Health Care Agency Director Clayton Chau,
Pathway is not considered or regulated as a special education school.












2020-2021 School Reopening Plan
Pathway School Reopening Plans and COVID Protocols
Pathway wants to be transparent with all of the parents in regard to our Re-Opening Guidelines & Processes along with changes we have initiated in the classrooms and types of learning platforms we will be offering for the Fall of ’20-21 school year. Our utmost concern is to provide as much protection to our students and staff while minimizing cross-contamination of germs to our students and staff.
Cleaning and Disinfection:
Pathway will use the CDC “Interim Guidance for Schools and Day Camps” as a guideline for cleaning and disinfecting along with changes in CAL OSHA and ACSI where applicable.
Pathway will assume coordination of responsibilities in sanitizing the classrooms/ancillary rooms with St. George Church (Pathway’s landlord).
School will be deep cleaned every morning before the start of school. Throughout the day, we will clean the desks, doorknobs, sinks in the bathrooms, and handrails. Each room has
wall-mounted Purell disinfecting dispensers to be used at any time needed. Handwashing stations have been installed outside for lunch and PE activities.
Each student will have their own supply box and their own crate that will contain their textbooks, binder, supply box, clipboard, and whiteboards. There will not be any sharing of educational materials from one student to another.
Cohorting:
School hours remain the same as last year. Monday-Thursday 8:30-2:45 pm, Fridays and minimum days schedule is 8:30-12:15 pm. Students will remain in their classroom cohorts throughout the day with speciality teachers traveling to those classrooms.
Lunch tables have been placed 6′ apart and each table has been marked indicating an empty space to ensure social distancing. Students will remain with their classroom cohort during our lunch period.
Entrance, Egress, and Movement Within the School:
Parents will drop-off outside the playground gate in the back parking lot. As each child gets out of the car their temperature will be checked (less than 99.5 degrees will be required to attend school) and health screened. All staff will be temperature checked and health screened as they arrive in the morning as well. The pick-up process will follow prior years in entering the playground and waiting for the teachers to release the student to their designated approved driver. Class dismissal will be on a staggered schedule to maintain 6′ social distance. If you are bringing your child late then you must walk your child into the school office to be temperature checked and health screened.
School halls, stairs and blacktop have been marked in 6′ increments to maintain social distancing while lining up outside of classrooms and outside to maintain 6′ social distancing guidelines.
Face Coverings and Other Essential Protective Gear:
We have been sourcing product(s) to create a safe environment for the students and staff to ensure we have a positive and productive learning environment for our students. Pathway is requiring all students, staff, and parents to wear a mask as entering the school. Pathway is providing face shields and masks for all students and staff to wear. Students and staff will be required to wear either a mask or face shield at all times.
Health Screenings for Students and Staff:
As each child gets out of the car their temperature will be checked (less than 99.5 degrees will be required to attend school) and health screened. All staff will be temperature checked and health screened as they arrive in the morning as well. The pick-up process will follow prior years in entering the playground and waiting for the teachers to release the student to their designated approved driver. Class dismissal will be on a staggered schedule to maintain 6′ social distance. If a parent is bringing their student late then they must walk the student into the school office to be temperature checked and health screened.
Healthy Hygiene Practices:
Each classroom and office has wall-mounted Purell disinfecting dispensers to be used at any time needed. Handwashing stations have been installed outside for lunch and PE activities.
Identification and Tracing of Contacts:
Any positive cases that arise will be communicated to the parents of Pathway as to what classroom has been affected while being considerate of confidential information regarding any names.
If one (1) positive case is reported/identified in a classroom (including the Teacher or Assistant), the entire class will be quarantined for 14 days at home and will shift immediately to eLearning for that period of time. The room will be extensively cleaned by our staff and St George’s professional services. Communication will be sent to all parents of the school as to which classroom has been quarantined.
If two (2)* positive cases in the school have been reported/identified in one or more classrooms, Pathway will shift to elearning and the school will be closed for 14 days with an extensive cleaning/sanitizing process. The school will identify contact tracing/cohorts, and will notify our local public health department.
Pathway is using a contact tracing spreadsheet in order to identify where the student or staff member has been and what/who they have been in contact with through the course of the day.
Physical Distancing:
Pathway is observing the 6′ distancing in classroom placement of desks , hallways have been marked with tape, outside asphalt has been painted with red footprints to ensure students are properly distanced. Lunch tables have been placed 6′ apart and each table has been marked as an empty space to ensure social distancing.
Staff Training and Family Education:
Pathway will have in-service for all staff prior to the start of school with COVID protocol training as well as on hand washing, classroom disinfecting, social distancing during drop-off/pickup times/ nutrition/lunch time/PE.
Parents have been sent home COVID protocols and guidelines for Pathway School and must sign a Parental Agreement for COVID protocols. Students will not be allowed to attend school prior to Pathway receiving a copy of the signed signature page.
Testing of Students and Staff:
Any student showing symptoms of COVID-19 will be sent home and may return to school 3 days after symptoms resolve if tests are negative.
Pathway will be utilizing the services of Kyla to COVID test all staff prior to the start of school. Should a staff member be exposed to COVID, Kyla will follow up with their protocol for rapid testing and the staff will self quarantine until test results are returned. If a student at Pathway has symptoms of COVID or has tested positive for COVID, we require the student stay home and self-quarantine for 14 days. Students will have access to elearning through live instruction online.
Triggers for Switching to Distance Learning:
If one (1) positive case is reported/identified in a classroom (including the Teacher or Assistant), the entire class will be quarantined for 14 days at home and will shift immediately to elearning for that period of time. The room will be extensively cleaned by our staff and St George’s professional services. Communication will be sent to all parents of the school as to which classroom has been quarantined.
If two (2)* positive cases in the school have been reported/identified in one or more classrooms, Pathway will shift to elearning and the school will be closed for 14 days with an extensive cleaning/sanitizing process. The school will identify contact tracing/cohorts, and will notify our local public health department.
Communication Plans:
Any positive cases that arise will be communicated to the parents and staff of Pathway as to what classroom has been affected while being considerate of confidential information regarding any names.
Any information in our daily screening process will be directed to our office manager/HR professional, which aligns with the HIPAA and FERPA guidelines with protecting confidential information. Daily health screenings and temperature checks will be conducted by the office manager/ HR professional or School Director.
School EWebsite URL:
Pathway has posted our COVID protocols as well as our attestation letter for applying for the waiver on the homepage of our school website. www.pathwayschool.net
Updated 8/5/20


