FAQs

We have been informed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the State Office of Education that we will be starting school as scheduled in the fall. The operation of school will definitely be different however, with enhanced guidelines regarding physical distancing and disease prevention measures.

The district announced on July 28 that schools will open with an alternate-day, hybrid (in person/remote) learning model will be as follows:

• Students whose last name begins with A-K will attend school in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays with remote at-home learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays .
• Students whose last name begins with L-Z will attend school in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays with remote at-home learning on Mondays and Wednesdays.
• Fridays will be at-home remote learning days for all students with teachers working from the school site to provide remote instruction.
• In junior highs and high schools on a block (A/B Day) schedule, A-day classes will be repeated on Monday and Tuesday for the two groups of students. B-day classes will be repeated on Wednesday and Thursday for the two groups of students on subsequent days. Fridays will be combined A/B days.
• If students in the same household have different last names, a group assignment will be applied to all students based on last name of the oldest student in the household.

More information is outlined in the opening schools guidelines.

The alternate-day, hybrid (in person/remote) learning model will be as follows: 

• Students whose last name begins with A-K will attend school in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays with remote at-home learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays .

• Students whose last name begins with L-Z will attend school in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays with remote at-home learning on Mondays and Wednesdays.

• Fridays will be at-home remote learning days for all students with teachers working from the school site to provide remote instruction.

In Jr. High and High Schools on a block (A/B Day) schedule, A-day classes will be repeated on Monday and Tuesday for the two groups of students. B-day classes will be repeated on Wednesday and Thursday for the two groups of students on subsequent days. Fridays will be combined A/B days.

If students in the same household have different last names, group assignment will be applied to all stu- dents based on last name of the oldest student in the household.

Exceptions to group assignments will be approved by the school principal only when equivalent group sizes can be maintained.

This video shows how that works.

Parents can request a change through their school principal. All changes must be approved at the school level.

On the day that students are not at the school, they can pick up a grab and go breakfast and lunch at an assigned time. More information on that time will be announced before school begins.

Kindergarten classes will be split via last names as well. Half the morning class will attend Monday and Wednesday, with the other half of the morning class attending Tuesday and Thursday. Half the afternoon class will attend Monday and Wednesday, with the other half of the afternoon class attending Tuesday and Thursday. Specifics will be communicated to parents by the kindergarten teacher.

During the alternating-day schedule, there will not be a late start. 

Davis School District strives to keep parents informed. Since February parents and staff have been sent nearly a dozen emails regarding the district's response. Each email is added to the Covid-19 webpage under "District Communication." Additionally, the district has created a series of videos, which are linked under "Informational Videos."

The following guidelines are intended to provide protection for our employees, students, and community.

What we will do as school and district personnel:

• Mitigate risk/spread by encouraging physical distancing, proper hand hygiene, sanitization, wearing masks, staggering class start and release times, hallway flow adjustments, adjusting lunch times and seating, recess modifications and spacing of students in common areas.
• Be aware of illness/symptoms in the student body and contact a student’s family immediately if a student exhibits symptoms.
• Monitor positive COVID-19 cases and its spread in Davis District, and follow — as we would with any community health concern — the recommendation of health department officials regarding school closures, modified school schedules or in-school adjustments.
• Continue to refine our digital curriculum to meet the needs of distance learning as it arises.
• Modify our method of delivery, however necessary, to ensure the health and well-being of students and staff.

What you can do:

• Understand that these guidelines are determined by health, educational and civic professionals commissioned to care for your child, considering the physical environment, time spent in school, and the potential risk to the health of our students, staff and families.
• Keep your child home if they have a fever, cough, cold or flu symptoms, and have them return only when these symptoms have subsided.  
• Talk to your child about changes they may notice at school, reinforcing that these measures are in place to preserve their health, and the health of those around them.
• Send your child to school with a mask and encourage them to wear it.
• As always, please reinforce the importance of respecting the authority of teachers and staff to maintain order in the classroom, the hallway, and other campus areas.
• Prepare as much as possible to adapt to change. As evidenced this past spring, things evolve quickly, and schedule modifications and/or closures may be unavoidable.
• Recognize you can choose traditional face-to-face school or online options and, as always, we are happy to assist you with your child’s educational needs.
• Know that you as a guardian and parent have the right to keep your child home at any time as you assess risk as it relates to your family.

Cloth masks will be provided for all students and employees. Students are required to wear face coverings during the school day when physical distancing of 6 feet is not possible.

Employees will be directed to wear face coverings when physical distancing of 6 feet is not possible.

Accommodations will be made for staff and students who have respiratory issues.

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 virus spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another, usually within about 6 feet, so the use of cloth face coverings is important in settings where people are close to each other or where physical distancing is difficult to maintain.

Currently, the CDC does not recommend the use of face shields as a substitute for cloth face coverings. In some instances, face shields will be used as needed for special education, language immersion and an approved requested accommodation.

Since physical distancing measures cannot be maintained while transporting students, each student will be required to wear a mask when riding a school bus to and from school. Bus drivers and bus aides are also required to wear masks when transporting students.

Schools will increase instruction and monitoring of student handwashing. Proper hand-washing techniques include lathering hands with soap, scrubbing between fingers, washing the backside of each hand, scrubbing each wrist, washing underneath fingernails and rinsing with water. The process should take 20 seconds.

Elementary schools will provide frequent opportunities for students to wash hands, including before and after recess, lunch and other activities.

If soap and water are not readily available in some classrooms, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol will be used (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer).

Elementary students will also sanitize their hands every time they enter and exit the classroom. Staff in secondary schools will encourage students to sanitize hands each time they enter and exit a classroom and frequently throughout the day. Students will be instructed to cover all surfaces of their hands with sanitizer and rub them together until their hands feel dry.

Schools will identify a health room where symptomatic individuals can stay until they are able to go home. These rooms will be dedicated to use for students who feel ill once at school. They will not be used for other purposes, such as storage.

Students or staff who are symptomatic should not come to school. If a student begins exhibiting symptoms after arriving at school, they will wait in the health room with a facial mask and maintain physical distancing while arrangements are made for them to be picked up by a parent or emergency contact as soon as possible.

Parents and guardians need to make sure their emergency contact list is up to date.

Staff will be encouraged to safely and respectfully monitor any observable symptoms in students, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath. Staff will observe all applicable privacy laws and regulations in doing so. Additionally, schools will continually remind students to self-check for symptoms

The process for accessing homework has not changed. If a child stays home from school due to illness or other reasons, parents should coordinate with the teacher to get the required work and complete it.

The Davis School District has two fully online school options.

First, your student could enroll in Davis Connect K-12 Online School, where students will work online with a teacher during school hours.  All teachers for Davis Connect K-12 Online School will be Davis District teachers, but they will not likely be teachers from a student’s resident school.

Second, your student could enroll in Davis Connect K-12 Independent Study, where students will work online independently at their own pace with active parent support.

Students who choose either of these options will be withdrawn from their current school and enrolled full-time in Davis Connect, with the opportunity to re-enroll at their original school at the beginning of each new term. Priority enrollment is available now until August 1, after which enrollment requests will be granted based on program availability.  

For more information about online options and to enroll, please visit:  https://www.davis.k12.ut.us/academics/online-learning

Students will have assigned classroom seating and will sanitize their own space upon arrival with alcohol-based cleaner and a paper towel. Students will clean all shared hard surfaces such as desks, computers or other equipment when entering and exiting the classroom.

Elementary students will be given a disinfecting wipe to clean all shared supplies in STEM, music and art activity spaces.

Recesses will occur. Each school will address specifics for that particular school. It is likely that students will have two recess periods, which includes one during lunch. 

Safety and physical distancing requirements will be maintained during recess. If students are within 6 feet of one another, they will be strongly encouraged to wear a face covering.

Supervisors will be trained to provide structured recess activities that include physical distancing, as well as behavior management strategies. Grade levels/classes will be assigned specific areas of the playground.

Davis School District will follow the guidelines of the Utah High Schools Activities Association.

Busing will occur on a normal schedule with regular routes. 

Since physical distancing measures cannot be maintained while transporting students, each student will be required to wear a face covering when riding a school bus to and from school. Bus drivers and bus aides are also required to wear masks when transporting students.

High touchpoints on school buses, such as the backs of seats and handrails, will be wiped down and sprayed with disinfectant after each riding group.