WIESBADEN, Germany - As Department of Defense Education Activity schools return to in-person instruction at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, area administrators and staff are faced with new logistics challenges that account for physical distancing, face coverings and Center for Disease Control guidelines for cleanliness.
With almost 90% of Wiesbaden area school-aged students returning to in-person instruction, each DODEA school is evaluating class size, teaching and support staff, classroom sizes and a host of other details associated with educating more than 1,400 students across grades K to 12.
“It’s been a whole new ballgame for us,” said Angela Hadley, principal of Aukamm Elementary. “We’re still talking about curriculum and learning environment.” COVID-19 has added a new level of preparation. “It’s extra measures for safety and security while still focusing on quality in learning,” Hadley added.
Dr. Tonya Laliberte, principal of Hainerberg Elementary, said, “Teachers have been here all summer measuring classrooms and planning space.”
Dr. Heather Ramaglia, principal of Wiesbaden High School, said she’s been in constant communication with her staff as her administration problem solves the logistics of the upcoming year. “Thirty one staff members voluntarily showed up to address these questions,” she said of their summer meeting. “They want to get ahead of it.”
Dr. W. Lee Hill, principal of Wiesbaden Middle School said, “We have a district protocol; we have a school protocol.” As a part of planning, he invited the garrison’s public health officer for a walk-through meeting with his staff to complete their comprehensive plan.
Because each school has so many unique factors to consider, each has developed its own solution to the logistics of restarting the year. Each will be directly communicating with parents regarding protocols that apply through email, social media town halls and welcome videos.
Common changes to the way all four schools will operate include the reduction of transitions in hallways; the inclusion of touchless hand sanitizing stations and other cleaning procedures; the use of multiple entry and exit points for the beginning and end of the school day; grab-and-go lunches; and the use of face coverings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
The middle school and high school have also eliminated the use of lockers, as these are social gathering spots that cannot be sufficiently kept clean.
Lunch is a great example of the difference in approach for each school.
Aukamm Elementary – Because of its small size, this is the only school continuing to utilize its cafeteria for lunch time. Students will be able to properly distance and remove their face masks during their meal. A maximum of 24 students would be in the cafeteria at any given time while another group of students would have outdoor recess.
Hainerberg Elementary – The largest of the four schools, students will eat lunch in their classrooms because there are too many students to rotate in and out of the cafeteria.
Wiesbaden Middle School and Wiesbaden High School – Because both schools have modern common areas and similar schedules, their modifications are identical. Both schools are shifting to three lunch periods, allowing students to stay in the common areas for meals with cleaning in between. At the high school, however, students will not be permitted to leave campus.
All four principals had specific requests for parents, as they see the success of this school year hinging on partnering with families for everyone’s health and safety. Their main desire is for parents to check their children for the symptoms of illness and keep students home if they exhibit any two of the CDC’s list of symptoms. “Parents are required to do a check with their kids at home,” Hill said.
Hadley and Laliberte said they also put a lot of thought into the logistics of students exiting and entering the building. Parents will not be permitted inside, and students will be asked to use different egress points to increase social distances.
Each of the schools is well-resourced with cleaning supplies as the year begins. “We know day-to-day needs will arise that we need to prepare for,” Ramaglia said.
For more information on COVID-19 and protocols for returning to school:
DODEA protocols
• https://www.dodea.edu/returntoschool.cfm
CDC suggestions for schools
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html
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