On March 13th, 2020, the classrooms at AGHS went dark.  

What was supposed to be a two-week hiatus from campus turned into full distance learning for the remainder of the 2019/2020 school year.  Full distance learning resumed in August amidst county guidelines restricting students from returning to in-person learning.

On March 15th, 2021, light will return to the classrooms at AGHS.  The settled dust will be blown away, the shades and windows will be opened to let in fresh air, and students will strut onto campus, six feet at a time, and bring life to the emptiness that has shrouded the school for over a year.

Campus life, however, will not look the same as it did prior to lockdown.  The seagulls who frequent the quad after lunch will still go hungry due to new rules about food distribution and eating, the basketball courts will be void of freshman and sophomores courting, and ASB will not be an ever-present and engaging mid-day element with lunchtime activities, as a wide array of protocols and precautions are put in place to ensure the safety of the staff, students, and community as a whole.

Listed below are some student-specific protocols as listed in Lucia Mar Unified School District’s approved Covid-19 safety plan:

Health Screener:

Students who return to in-person instruction will be required to fill out a daily health screening, and answer “no” to a variety of symptoms in order to be admitted into a classroom. Students must complete and submit this form each day before reporting to campus.  If the answer to any of the following questions is “Yes”, students must stay home:

In the last 48 hours, have you/your child(ren) experienced any of the following symptoms? (not related to allergies or known medical issues):

-Temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth

-Sore throat 

-NEW uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for those with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline) 

-Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain 

-NEW onset of severe headache, especially with a fever 

-Shortness of breath 

-Muscle aches 

-NEW loss of taste or smell 

-In the last 14 days, has anyone in your household had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes) with someone who is confirmed to have COVID-19? 

An electronic signature of consent will also be required to declare that the information provided is true.

The Health Screening form is easily accessible on the Parentsquare or Studentsquare app and instructions on how to fill it out can be found here.

Masks: 

Face coverings will be required of all staff, parents, students, and visitors while on campus and regardless of ability to maintain 6’ distance.  Face covering must be worn everywhere on campus, indoors, and outdoors.  Face coverings with an exhalation valve or vent are not acceptable.

Social Distancing: 

All people on campus must maintain 6’ of physical distancing as much as practicable.  Desks in classrooms used by students within a cohort will be at least 6’ apart.  Employees will minimize in-person interaction with students or other employees who are not a part of their cohort.

Hand Hygiene

Hand washing is an important action to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. 

• Students will practice good hygiene by regularly washing their hands with soap for a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds. 
• Staff will encourage hand washing or hand sanitation prior to and following the use of shared items.
• Staff will provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethyl alcohol without methanol when hand washing is not practicable. 

Standing in Line

When possible, students will enter classrooms when they arrive as opposed to lining up outside.  Minimizing the practice of lining up students will minimize exposure. When students are lined up, 6’ of separation between each student will be required. For areas that require lining up, spaces are marked with spray paint to indicate where students should stand.

Student Transition Periods

Hallways and walkways will be marked with signage to indicate one-way travel patterns, staggered releases will be encouraged by staff, and minimizing student line-up will be prioritized. Face coverings will be required during student transition.

Bell Schedule

In addition to the aforementioned guidelines for in-person instruction, the bell schedule will also incur a major shift that is dependent upon a student’s last name, and their decision to return to in-person or online instruction.  The bell schedules can be accessed here.

Additional precautions and protocols will be implemented to negate community spread.  Some of these approaches include sanitization guidelines, personal protective equipment guidelines for staff, investigating and responding to COVID-19 cases and exposure, home isolation, and quarantine for exposed students and staff. Those guidelines can be accessed here.  

Returning to life as we knew it prior to the pandemic is and will continue to be slow.  Following precautionary measures will help ensure that the return to normal continues and the decline of cases is steady.