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0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02e0000KPCW's COVID-19 news coverage for Summit County and Wasatch County, Utah. 0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02f0000You can also visit the Utah Department of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization websites for additional information.

Back To School: What To Know Before Aug. 20

Image of the entrance into Park City High School
Park City High School

Classes start Aug. 20 for students in Park City. District administration continues work this summer to make schools as safe as possible for the return of students. Building operations will be different with COVID-19 prevention measures.

 

Park City School District started working on the back-to-school plan in March, right after Governor Herbert ordered Utah schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cleaning and safety measures have been identified and the district’s Chief Operating Officer, Mike Tanner says they’re continuing their work to implement them before the first school bell chimes. He says dealing with the contagiousness of the virus is an exercise in risk management and they’re doing everything recommended by the CDC and State Board of Health. That includes directional hallways, mask usage, distancing and sanitizing.

 

“And we’ve done some other really neat things. In fact our air circulation system is one of our components of this risk management strategy. [We’ve]inserted some advanced filters and ionizers and we’ve also increased the amount of fresh air that’s brought into the schools. And then our sanitation procedures--we've added an extra custodian per building to do nothing but wipe down touch services clean restrooms, and will help with lunch clean up that will be in the classrooms.” 

 

The cleaning products, Tanner says, have been approved by the EPA and FDA and are hydrogen peroxide-based. 

 

“The two main ingredients that we’re going to use to both fog the room and clean our touch services are all hydrogen peroxide-based and we’ll have those materials’ safety data sheets available for families to use and post it up on our website,” Tanner said.

 

For kids riding the bus to school, if it is too crowded for six-foot distancing, they’ll have children wearing masks. Their goal is to have no more than two children on a seat unless they’re a family unit. Drivers will ensure kids are in assigned seats for contact tracing purposes and they’ll have their own N-95 masks for extra protection. 

 

“And we’re going to load the buses the back to the front, as they are with the airlines now to reduce children walking past others and potential breathing [on them.] All of our buses are going to be clean when the kids show up in the morning,” Tanner said. “We’ll clean them before the afternoon route starts. After the morning route is done. Then we’ll clean him again in the evenings. We’ll have hand sanitizer dispensers in all the buses for the kids and our drivers will have extra masks in case some of the kids show up without a face covering.” 

 

Tanner says most classrooms are about 900 square feet. With 24 kids in a room and an instructor, they’ll be able to keep desks six feet apart. As KPCW has reported, the district is offering parents an alternative to keep kids home and do classes on-line. This may reduce class sizes and provide more social distance options.

 

“We’re also prepared to use some of our larger common spaces in the event that we do have a classroom that exceeds that six capability. We also will have on a limited basis in some rooms, especially for some younger ones, or specially for someone under watch some desktop, plexiglass shields that will help us provide a secondary layer of protection between our kids and each other.

 

For information and details about school opening procedures, visit the school district’s website.

 

Park City School District started working on the back-to-school plan in March, right after Governor Herbert ordered Utah schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cleaning and safety measures have been identified and the district’s Chief Operating Officer, Mike Tanner says they’re continuing their work to implement them before the first school bell chimes. He says dealing with the contagiousness of the virus is an exercise in risk management and they’re doing everything recommended by the CDC and State Board of Health. That includes directional hallways, mask usage, distancing and sanitizing.

 

“And we’ve done some other really neat things. In fact our air circulation system is one of our components of this risk management strategy. [We’ve]inserted some advanced filters and ionizers and we’ve also increased the amount of fresh air that’s brought into the schools. And then our sanitation procedures--we've added an extra custodian per building to do nothing but wipe down touch services clean restrooms, and will help with lunch clean up that will be in the classrooms.” 

 

The cleaning products, Tanner says, have been approved by the EPA and FDA and are hydrogen peroxide-based. 

 

“The two main ingredients that we’re going to use to both fog the room and clean our touch services are all hydrogen peroxide-based and we’ll have those materials’ safety data sheets available for families to use and post it up on our website,” Tanner said.

 

For kids riding the bus to school, if it is too crowded for six-foot distancing, they’ll have children wearing masks. Their goal is to have no more than two children on a seat unless they’re a family unit. Drivers will ensure kids are in assigned seats for contact tracing purposes and they’ll have their own N-95 masks for extra protection. 

 

“And we’re going to load the buses the back to the front, as they are with the airlines now to reduce children walking past others and potential breathing [on them.] All of our buses are going to be clean when the kids show up in the morning,” Tanner said. “We’ll clean them before the afternoon route starts. After the morning route is done. Then we’ll clean him again in the evenings. We’ll have hand sanitizer dispensers in all the buses for the kids and our drivers will have extra masks in case some of the kids show up without a face covering.” 

 

Tanner says most classrooms are about 900 square feet. With 24 kids in a room and an instructor, they’ll be able to keep desks six feet apart. As KPCW has reported, the district is offering parents an alternative to keep kids home and do classes on-line. This may reduce class sizes and provide more social distance options.

 

“We’re also prepared to use some of our larger common spaces in the event that we do have a classroom that exceeds that six capability. We also will have on a limited basis in some rooms, especially for some younger ones, or specially for someone under watch some desktop, plexiglass shields that will help us provide a secondary layer of protection between our kids and each other.

 

For information and details about school opening procedures, visit the school district’s website.

KPCW reporter Carolyn Murray covers Summit and Wasatch County School Districts. She also reports on wildlife and environmental stories, along with breaking news. Carolyn has been in town since the mid ‘80s and raised two daughters in Park City.
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