Re-opening at-a-Glance

Middle School at-a-Glance: Phased in Return to School Schedule

At Harley, we are individuals in community: as individuals, we have rights; as community members, we have responsibilities. Our reopening plan depends on everyone’s adherence to the rights and responsibilities implicit in our full plan and made explicit below. It is up to each of us to take measures on campus, at home, and in all aspects of our lives to keep us safe—and to keep the Harley community moving forward through this challenging time. Our work together will control transmission, sustain our on campus learning experience, and help us protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19. 

We request that all families returning to in-person school commit to these responsibilities by digitally signing the pledge which will be sent to families before the start of the school year. Families should review these responsibilities with their children, and students in Grades 5-12 will be expected to sign alongside their parent(s)/guardian(s). All employees will be asked to make the same commitment.

Harley is committed to the health and safety of all members of its community.

Harley will require all persons on our campus or on school business/trips/activities in the community to comply with our health and safety practices. Lack of compliance may result in a consequence that is commensurate with the individual’s role at school, and in the case of students, their developmental status. 

Face Coverings

Harley requires ALL employees, students, and other visitors to campus—such as parents, contractors, or vendors—to wear an acceptable face covering as defined by the CDC at all times while on Harley’s campus.

• Acceptable face coverings include but are not limited to cloth-based face coverings (e.g., homemade sewn, quick cut) and surgical masks that cover both the mouth and nose.
• Bandanas, neck gaiters, or masks with valves will not be allowed.
• Face shields are not a substitute for masks. Disposable face coverings are available at the front entrance and nurse’s office for those who arrive on campus without an appropriate face covering.
• Face coverings must be worn so that both the mouth and nose are covered at all times. 

Mask Breaks

• When individuals are outside and able to maintain 6 feet social distancing;
• When individuals are permitted a short “mask break” of under 10 minutes and are able to maintain 6 feet social distancing—mask breaks will be initiated by adults in the community;
• When individuals are eating (snack breaks/meals) and are able to maintain 6 feet social distancing.
• Additional exceptions by division (such as during the use of the pool or when children are napping) or business function will be shared with employees, students, and families prior to the start of school. In all such cases, strict social distancing or the use of additional protective measures (barriers, face shields, etc.) will be required.

Social Distancing 

Individuals on campus will be expected to follow social distance guidelines to maintain at least 6 feet whenever possible between individuals. Harley has posted social distancing markers using tape or signs that denote six feet of spacing in commonly used and other applicable areas on the site. 

We are in a unique position due to our campus size, and will leverage our square footage to ensure social distancing. Examples of changes include modifying classroom furniture, class layouts, schedules, and class size as needed. In most cases, meetings, parent gatherings, student presentations with audiences, etc. will be available via video streaming or via Zoom.

Daily Screening

Harley will require a daily health screening of employees and students, and where applicable, contractors, vendors, and visitors (including parents) who enter our buildings. This health screening will include a required temperature check that meets state guidelines and will optimally occur at the individual’s residence before departing for school.

• Individuals whose health screening and temperature check indicate they are not able to report to school will be instructed to stay at home and to contact the school’s Coordinator for Contact Tracing and Return to School, nurse Deb Hougton, via a dedicated school phone line.  
• If an individual does not complete the health screening and temperature check prior to arriving at school, Harley will perform a health screening before allowing the individual to attend classes, report to work, or enter the building.

COVID-19 Testing

Testing, and the availability of testing, is an important strategy in reducing viral transmission, securing a quick return to in-person schooling, and reducing anxiety.

• Harley is working to identify organizations in the community (e.g., local health department testing sites, physician offices, hospital system) that are able to reliably provide ready access to testing and results. Our intent is to provide families and employees with referrals to those organizations for individual needs and to develop a partnership with an organization in the event that large-scale testing at school is needed. 

Harley will utilize a phased-in approach for the return to in-person instruction in the fall.

• This approach will limit the number of students on campus as Harley instructs students on proper safety and hygiene protocols and procedures, and supports the social and emotional needs of students, families, and staff during the first days back to school.

• We will focus primarily on building the habits which will lead to a safer environment, reestablishing community, and attending to social-emotional needs. “Traditional” subject content will be gradually phased in as we attend to these primary needs.

• Harley will provide families with a calendar of the plan by division for the first two weeks of school: September 8 -18. We reserve the right to extend or modify the phased-in return to school if needed.

The remote learning model for all students occurs when on-campus learning is not feasible or allowed by state or local order. Harley has developed three different versions of remote learning: short-term, long-term individual, and long-term group models. 

• Short-Term Remote: for those who are absent for short periods (1-21 days) for reasons due to illness, required quarantine or isolation, etc., who intend to return to in-person learning when able.
• The Short-Term Remote model will vary by division in terms of the delivery of instruction and learning activities, though each division will have Remote Learning Coordinators—adult staff who will support those students learning remotely from home.
• Cohort groups may shift to short-term remote learning if the Monroe County Board of Health requires close contacts of an infected individual to quarantine.

• Long-Term Individual Remote: for those who are unable to return to school for medical reasons and/or general discomfort.  
• Families are required to commit to remote learning for a minimum of a trimester length; the possibility of returning to in-person school may be limited due to class size and available space. 

• Fully Remote Learning:  A fully remote learning experience will be provided to all students should Harley not be able to provide in person instruction for an extended period of time. Remote learning plans for each division will be developed prior to the start of school and will build on lessons learned from our spring closure and faculty/administration research and professional development undertaken this summer.  

All classrooms are being reconfigured so students can be six feet apart. Some classes will meet in spaces like libraries, conference rooms, and other areas usually used as common spaces. Some classrooms have had additional furniture such as bookshelves and sofas removed to provide more space for seating.

In addition to daily disinfection, classroom surfaces will be cleaned throughout the day, particularly at class changes.

Food will be packaged on a “grab-and-go” basis and delivered to specific classrooms/locations for students and employees.  

• The Dining Hall is developing a plan to accommodate for allergies, dietary restrictions, etc., as well as the logistics of preparing and delivering nutritious snacks and meals.

• Students will only be able to eat in designated areas by division and under adult supervision. 

• Individuals may remove their face coverings to eat their snack or lunch, but they must maintain 6’ social distancing while unmasked.  

• Students and employees will practice proper hand hygiene before and after eating, and surfaces will be cleaned before and after eating.
• Upper School students may not leave campus for lunch.

Drinking Fountains: Drinking fountains will be closed, with the exception of contactless water bottle-refilling stations.

Harley is developing detailed plans for students by division and for its employees in order to stagger arrival/dismissal, reduce congestion, and to maintain social distancing at entrances.  

• Our plans will consider:
• Dividing up student entry/exit points to limit the amount of close contact between individuals in high-traffic situations and times.
• Staggering arrival times by division as feasible. 
• Establishing designated areas for student drop-off and pick-up beyond our normal areas.
• Limiting contact with and the entry of parents/guardians into the building to the greatest extent possible.

Vocal Ensembles 

Singing in large groups (such as in the classroom, large ensembles, Assemblies, etc.) will be temporarily suspended.

Group singing, such as singing in LS music classes and MS choir classes, will not occur Nursery to Grade 8, and students will receive music instruction through other elements of the curricular content.

Vocal ensembles in the Upper School will be reduced in size to meet NYS 12-foot spacing requirements, and enrollment and the frequency of meetings will be adjusted to limit group sizes. Ensemble sizes will typically be between four and eight people. Ensembles will meet outdoors, if possible. If indoors, time will be left between rehearsals to refresh the air in the space.

Instrumental Ensembles

Middle School: Instrumental ensembles will be cohorted by grade level and reduced in numbers to meet NYS 12-foot spacing recommendations for wind players and at least 6-foot spacing for percussionists and string instrumentalists. Wind players will use additional mitigation techniques (e.g., bell covers) to reduce aerosol production. Ensembles will meet outdoors, if possible. If indoors, time will be left between rehearsals of wind instruments to refresh the air in the space. 

Upper School: Instrumental ensembles will be reduced in size to meet NYS 12-foot spacing for wind players and at least 6-foot spacing for percussionists and string instrumentalists. Wind players will use additional mitigation techniques (e.g., bell covers) to reduce aerosol production. Ensembles will meet outdoors, if possible. If indoors, time will be left between rehearsals of wind instruments to refresh the air in the space.

Harley is committed to Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) as a central component of our students’ educational experience since we believe it drives all aspects of The Harley School Mission.

We know the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our community members—students, employees, families—in multiple ways on multiple levels. During reopening, Harley will continue to lead with health and wellness at the forefront, just as our school did when we shifted to remote learning during the early days of spring.

Harley will continue to prioritize connections between students, employees, and family members. Though we may not be able to offer the same experiences as we would normally during in-person education, we will implement a variety of at-school and remote options to address the social and emotional needs of all of our community members. 

Our Wellness Team: composed of school counselors, health teachers, affiliate faculty, and an administrative liaison, is developing a multi-tiered reopening wellness plan to guide our efforts. The plan is being informed by the work of the Monroe County Trauma, Illness, & Grief (TIG) Consortium, state guidance, and research into wellness plans at other schools and in other states.

Use of our libraries will vary by division.

• At the Lower School, library/book exchange will be a push-in service.
• At the Middle School, we will continue our informational skills classes and develop ways for students to access materials.
• At the Upper School level, there will likely be limits on the use of the library space for independent study and socializing.

Library books will have a decontamination period of three days before being entered back into circulation. Items that can not be properly disinfected will have a sitting period of three days after being handled.

Student access to reference materials (books, newspapers) will be supervised by our librarian.

Harley will support those extracurricular activities that are able to be conducted within the safety practices and protocols that apply at each division and that we are reasonably able to support from a personnel standpoint. Additional information regarding extracurricular activities will be forthcoming; in the meantime, the guiding assumption is that extracurricular activities as we have traditionally known them will be greatly modified.

As we begin the school year, all field trips and overnight travel will be postponed for all divisions. We will reevaluate travel opportunities as the year progresses.

Harley has developed protocols and procedures for how to respond to positive or presumed-positive COVID-19 cases, as well as preventative practices for safely caring for a student, faculty, or staff member if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 during the school day. 

• Harley has developed protocols for persons who have tested positive that require them to complete isolation and have recovered to the point of not transmitting COVID-19 before returning to in-person. 

Discharge from isolation and return to school will be conducted in coordination with the local health department and Nurse Deb Houghtalen, Harley’s Coordinator of Contact Tracing and Return to School.

Harley will require a daily health screening of employees and students, and where applicable, contractors, vendors, and visitors (including parents) who enter our buildings. This health screening will include a required temperature check that meets state guidelines.  

• Per guidelines, health screenings and temperature checks will optimally occur at the individual’s residence before departing for school.

• Individuals whose health screening and temperature check indicate they are not able to report to school will be instructed to stay at home and to contact the school’s Coordinator for Contact Tracing and Return to School via a dedicated school phone line.  

• Harley will have a system in place to log daily health screening completion and results and will cross check health screening submission with attendance.

• If an individual does not complete the health screening and temperature check prior to arriving at school, Harley will perform a health screening before allowing the individual to attend classes, report to work, or enter the building.

• Testing Protocols: Harley is in the process of establishing a relationship with a testing facility for the provision of COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Harley will refer individuals to that testing facility, their personal health care provider, or other resources as designated by the Monroe County Board of Health. Harley has developed plans for symptomatic individuals, the close contacts of COVID-19 suspected or confirmed individuals, and individuals with recent travel to one of the states/countries on the NYS Travel advisory list, and will share our testing requirements with these individuals before allowing such individuals to return to school in person.
• Testing Availability: Harley is working to identify organizations in the community (e.g., local health department testing sites, physician offices, hospital system) that are able to reliably provide ready access to testing and results. Our intent is to provide families and employees with referrals to those organizations for individual needs and to develop a partnership with an organization in the event that large-scale testing at school is needed. 

Harley has contracted with a former school nurse to serve as its internal Coordinator for Contact Tracing and Return to School. This individual will support the local health department in contact tracing efforts using the protocols, training, and tools provided through the New York State Contact Tracing Program.  

Additionally, the Coordinator will work with families and employees who are in quarantine or isolation to provide them with direction as to the protocol and procedures that must be followed before the individual is able to return to school.

• Travel to a State or Country on the New York State Travel Advisory List: Any individual who has traveled to a state or country on the New York State Travel Advisory List must complete a 14-day quarantine at home as mandated by the Governor.
• Any such individuals must identify themselves to the school’s Coordinator for Contact Tracing and Return to School and provide the location(s) visited, the duration of their stay, and the date of return to receive further guidance.

• The individual may return to school after completing the 14-day quarantine period, as long as they are able to successfully complete a health screening and temperature check on the day of their return and have not developed any symptoms during the quarantine. If they have developed symptoms, they must contact the school’s Coordinator for Contact Tracing and Return to School and complete the protocol for symptomatic individuals before returning to school.

• Please consult the guidelines for states/countries on the list and the definition of travel on the New York State Travel Advisory.