Students may elect to be 100-percent virtual or attend school in-person for five days a week. The hybrid option will no longer be feasible. As we return more students to in-person instruction, the hybrid option will cease to serve its original purpose, which was to limit the number of students in the building so 6 feet of physical distancing could be achieved. In addition, providing just two modes of instruction will allow for greater consistency in instructional delivery and also promote more consistent attendance (which is important for school safety and security). Teachers will be more effective if they plan for two consistent groups (in-person or remote) instead of three.

Given the spikes in COVID-19 rates that occurred following the holiday breaks in November and December, we thought it was safest to allow a week to pass between the Easter/Passover holidays before implementing a schedule change. This additional week will also give us more time to prepare for the accommodation of more students in our schools.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education and Department of Health have recommended that school districts use county data and recently updated their guidelines to suggest that school districts also consider community data when making instructional model decisions. These data include incidence and positivity COVID-19 rates at the county, district, township and borough levels.

The incidence rate is the number of cases per 100,000 people in a specific area. The positivity rate is the percentage of positive cases among individuals who have been tested in a particular area. These rates are published each week by Montgomery County and are used together to determine whether or not a particular area falls into the substantial, moderate or low transmission range. Click here for definitions of substantial, moderate or low transmission.

The district will strive to achieve 6 feet of physical distancing where possible, but may go as low as 3 feet in order to accommodate the number of students in a particular classroom. Six feet of physical distance will still be required in cafeterias and auxiliary eating spaces since students must have their masks off in order to eat. We will also make use of plastic dividers and outdoor spaces when appropriate.

Similar to what we do now, we would perform contract tracing to determine the individual’s close contacts. The main difference if more students return on-site is that there may be a bigger group of close contacts to identify. Those close contacts, people who have been within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes, would be notified and required to isolate. We will continue following the county guidelines for exclusion/return to school that you can review by clicking here (scroll down to review the COVID-19 School Exclusion Guide).

Your child will be allowed to attend virtually.

To date, we have been assigning one child per seat on our buses and that may increase to two students per seat. Masks will be required. Families who would like to continue to provide transportation for their children may do so and we are grateful for their assistance.

While we would prefer that people do not request changes, we understand that circumstances change and may prompt a need for a different instructional model. We will do our best to accommodate when possible. 

We may have to return to hybrid or virtual models if that occurs. Students attending in-person who may not previously have been in a hybrid cohort will be assigned to one.

Yes, we will make every effort to make sure that our virtual students have the same (or similar experiences) as their in-person classmates. 

The 2020-2021 Health and Safety plan along with additional resources may be wieved on the District's COVID-19 webpage. Click here to view the page.

The Colonial School District will follow the Montgomery County Health Department guidelines and the Pennsylvania Department of Health Guidance on Universal Face Coverings. "Face Covering" means a covering of the nose and mouth that is secured to the head with ties, straps or loops over the ears or is wrapped around the lower face. All staff must wear masks all of the time except when eating lunch or working in isolation at a work station. Vent masks will not be permitted. Individuals who cannot wear a mask or face shield due to a medical condition, including those with respiratory issues that impede breathing, mental health condition, or disability must present medical documentation.

Will staff wear masks all day?

Staff will follow state guidelines for using face coverings, similar to students. In some cases, staff members may wear face shields in addition to masks. This may include staff who work with students with special needs, nurses, etc.

Will all students have to wear masks all day?

Students will be expected to follow state guidelines for using face coverings. Face coverings may be removed to eat when social distancing can be maintained, for exercise outdoors and during outdoor “mask breaks” when social distancing can be maintained. State guidelines allow exceptions for health conditions where wearing a mask is not advised. Under those circumstances, students may wear face shields that extend below the chin instead of a mask, if preferred, over or in addition to a mask. Students who do not have an appropriate mask will be provided one.

Masking requirements for school students are changing as COVID-19 transmission rates drop and more people are vaccinated. According to the most recent guidance from Montgomery County Office of Public Health, effective Friday, May 14, students will not be required to wear masks outside when involved in high exertion activities that take place during outside recess, physical education classes, or athletic team competition.

Students who are outside, not engaged in physical activity, and in close proximity to others (for example, on the sidelines of a sporting event or sitting down and talking during recess) will be expected to continue wearing masks. The requirement to wear masks inside will also remain in place.  

What will happen to students who refuse to wear masks? 

It is possible that students who refuse to wear face coverings and are not exempted from doing so may be excluded from attending school in person.

What accommodations will be made for students who have difficulty wearing masks and/or for students who have trouble understanding or communicating with staff in masks?

We encourage parents/guardians to practice mask wearing with their children so they become comfortable with them. We understand that wearing masks may hamper communication between students and staff. Therefore, the District has ordered a number of clear masks for staff to wear as needed.

What provisions will be made for eating lunch?

Current guidelines allow masks to be removed for eating if six-foot social distancing can be maintained. Socially distanced cafeteria seats have been marked for student use. Other lunch locations will vary from building to building, but can include classrooms with forward-facing desks, auditoriums, gymnasiums and more.

Colonial School District’s custodial staff has received specialized training, including CDC requirements for COVID-19, and will be incorporating new equipment and protocols to keep Colonial schools clean and safe. In addition to sanitizing frequently touched surfaces throughout the day, the staff will also be employing new foggers to help with disinfectant coverage and a color-coded system to avoid cross contamination. All schools will be thoroughly cleaned following each school day. With air-conditioning in all schools, the facilities department has also installed new antimicrobial filters in all of the HVAC systems and will increase ventilation rates. Please click here to review a presentation about the cleaning procedures currently in place. 

School counselors, community counselors, and school nurses will continue to support students during online instruction. Counselors will also provide classroom lessons at the elementary level. Student Assistance Program (SAP) members from each building will continue to identify and assist students experiencing barriers to learning that affect behavior, academics, health and attendance.

If your child is struggling, reach out to your school counselor. If you believe that your child is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 or seek the nearest emergency room. Find out what other area community behavioral health services are available by clicking here. 

Classrooms are being rearranged to maximize open square footage. Where possible, 6 feet of physical distancing will be maintained. A minimum of 3 feet of physical distancing will be upheld. Desks will be oriented to face in the same direction to eliminate face-to-face seating. Student seating will remain 6 feet from a teacher's desk. 

The District plans to create and establish mandatory homeroom in the AM and staggered PM dismissal. (High School) Traffic patterns will be revised and floor decals ordered for one-way student transition between classes (in the halls and stairways).  The transition time between classes will be increased to 10 minutes at PWHS to provide for social distancing in the hallways. At the middle school, students will only be moving from class to class during grade-level unified arts times, lunch, and arrival and dismissal. Unified arts times also vary per grade, and additional lunch times have been added to each grade.

In cafeterias, students will not be permitted to serve themselves for items such as fruit and or vegetable selections. Staff will serve students all meal components. Selection of fruits and vegetables will be limited. Students will use disposable silverware and prepackaged condiments.

At the middle and high schools, social distancing signage will be used while students wait in line to secure a lunch. Parents/guardians will be encouraged to deposit funds using the online payment portal, avoiding the handling of cash and checks in the cafeterias. Students will not need to touch a pin pad or finger scan, as a touchless check out process is in place. 

Cafeteria staff are equipped with appropriate PPE, including masks, gloves, and face shields, and plexiglass barriers have been installed where applicable.  

Additional lunch periods and eating areas will be designated to limit the number of students in a cafeteria at one time. Students will observe 6 feet of physical distancing at all times, since masks will be taken off to eat. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), currently there is no evidence of food, food containers, or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.

Students will participate in a strictly online model through the first half of the school year (January 22, 2021). Students will take part in synchronous and asynchronous learning in a virtual setting with their hybrid classmates and taught by their current classroom teachers in order to preserve the community of learners and relationships built. Virtual Instruction will maintain supplemental supports and services, including Special Education and English Language Learners.

• Prioritize learning objectives, essential questions, eligible content and Pennsylvania standards 

• Keep consistent pacing as in a typical environment 

• Provide content area resources/books/packets/manipulatives for learners 

• Maximize District applications and resources on grade-level devices

• Maintain supplemental supports and services, including Special Education and English Language Learners

Colonial School District
Virtual Learning Code of Conduct
2020-2021

Standards of conduct are just as important in our virtual (online) classroom environments as they are in our brick and mortar schools, and appropriate student behavior is expected. To ensure that all students and their families understand the behavioral expectations and norms for an online environment, we have developed a “Virtual Learning Code of Conduct” that all students will be expected to follow.

The Virtual Learning Code of Conduct addresses students’ online interactions with Colonial School District (CSD) faculty, staff, and other students as well as students’ individual actions. The virtual code of conduct is intended to complement, not replace, existing regulations and District policies, including those related to acceptable use, social media, electronic communications, and data security. The following expectations apply to all Learning Management System (LMS) platforms and synchronous (live) lesson environments.

1. Students are expected to use respectful language when speaking and when communicating through text and/or chat features. Students are not to use obscene, profane, threatening, and/or disrespectful language or images in any communication with CSD faculty, staff, and/or other students.

2. All communication with other students must be course-related (or class-related) in nature and must be polite, courteous, and respectful. The sending of unsolicited emails and/or messages to other classmates is prohibited. 

3. Whenever possible, students should turn on their cameras while synchronous instruction is taking place. If/when this is not possible, a student self-photo, or “selfie,” should be used, so that they are easily recognizable to others. 

4. Students must use a self-photo, or “selfie,” and video feed background that is appropriate for an educational environment. CSD faculty and administration reserve the right to determine if a profile picture and/or video feed background is inappropriate. Students using an inappropriate profile picture or video feed background will be required to update their settings.

5. Students are expected to be dressed appropriately for all synchronous lessons. The CSD Student Dress Code shall apply to all virtual learning environments.

6. During synchronous instruction, students are encouraged to find a quiet space where they will not be distracted from learning. Items that reveal personal information should be moved out of camera range. 

7. Students are prohibited from sharing or posting videos (synchronous and/or asynchronous), pictures, or copies of either student-generated or teacher work on social media, gaming networks, or elsewhere online. 

8. Students are prohibited from accessing the synchronous instruction for any class they are not scheduled to attend. 

9. Recordings of synchronous instruction will be accessible only in a password-protected manner and should be viewed by students in a private setting that is not accessible to the public. 

10. Students will be notified prior to the streaming or recording of instruction.

11. No teacher or administrator will be required to stream or record instruction for a student’s routine illness or absence. 

12. The integrity and authenticity of student work is taken seriously and checked using a variety of technologies. Copying the work of others, allowing others to knowingly copy a student’s work, doing another student’s (or your child’s) work, and/or misusing content from the Internet is prohibited and could result in removal from the courses with a failing grade. Final grades may be rescinded if a student is found to have cheated or plagiarized after the grade has been posted. 

    1. Parents/guardians, as partners in supporting student learning, you are encouraged to do the following:

       • Ensure that your child’s work is authentic and original

       • Monitor

       • Ask any questions regarding plagiarism or cheating if you are unsure

       • Report any suspicious activity

13. Security and Safety is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you identify a security and/or safety problem in the district’s devices and/or educational platform, notify your teacher or building administrator. 

Disciplinary Action

1. CSD students are subject to all local, state, and federal laws governing the Internet. Consequently, faculty and administration will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation related to illegal activities conducted through Internet access.

2. In the event there is a claim that a student has violated this policy, the student (and parents/guardians) will be notified of the suspected violation and given an opportunity to present an explanation.

3. Violations to the CSD Virtual Learning Code of Conduct will initiate the following procedure:

   1. Upon the violation, the teacher will notify the building administrator.

   2. The administrator will notify the student and parent/guardian of the violation. 

   3. Based on the violation, building administrators will determine what, if any, disciplinary action must be taken. If an investigation of the violation must occur, the student may be temporarily removed from CSD virtual classes/courses until the investigation is complete and appropriate disciplinary action is taken. 

4. Disciplinary actions will be informed by the CSD Code of Conduct and subsequent discipline policies. 

The District will continue to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all students with IEPs, GIEPs, and 504 Service Agreements. Our goal is to maximize in-person special education programming while offering a virtual option for students who need it. Recognizing that students have been out of school for a longer period of time than usual, we intend to support students in returning to school by providing additional supports to help them understand the safety measures that are being taken against COVID-19. 

Yes! Breakfasts and lunches are now free through the end of the school year.

• In-person hybrid learners can eat for free in the cafeteria. No paperwork required. Packers can take advantage of fresh milk, fruit and vegetables through the "Pick 3 and It's Free" program.

• Take Home Meals for hybrid learners and weekly Meal Packs for virtual learners must be ordered in advance by Thursday for the next week. Thursday will be the deadline moving forward! Note: Ignore where the website that says "Ordering is not available for today." Ordering is available! Click on the link! The weekly pick up date is Fridays at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. 

• Extras and a la carte items are not included in the free meals and can be purchased.

Follow these steps to place a meal order for pick up from Colonial Food Services. You will need to complete this process for each student in your household. 

Click here to go to https://colonialsd.nutrislice.com/ or download and open the Nutrislice App on your mobile device. (If you haven't already created a Nutrislice Account, please click here to sign up.)  

Summer: Order Free Weekly Meal Packs

Complimentary Colonial Curbside Meals will resume on Thursdays, starting June 24 through August 12. The free meal pickups will be at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (follow the bus lane to the back of the building), between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Each free meal pack will contain seven breakfasts and seven lunches per child — including entrees, fruits, vegetables, and milk. There are no requirements to qualify for the meals; meal packs are free for all school-age students in the community. 

1. Choose your child’s school from the list.
2. Click on the link for Thursday Meal Pick Up. Important: Ignore where website says "Ordering is not available for today." 
3. Click on the plus sign on any item to add it to your cart. 
4. When you are done filling your cart, click on the shopping bag icon at the top of the screen. Then click “Check Out."
5. Choose the child for whom you are placing your order from the dropdown. 
6. “Pay with Student ID” is the only payment option; however, you will not be charged for meals at this time. However, if you order cookies or drinks, your child's meal account will be charged accordingly. 

Orders must be placed by Thursday for the following week.

Private School Families

You will need to create a Nutrislice Account. Please use your child's four digit birthday (month and day) as your child's ID number. When you go through the steps above, you can choose any school for step 1. 

No. There are enough devices so that any student who needs one can have access to one. If you didn't request a device at the beginning of the year and later decide you would like one, email csdsupport@colonialsd.org or call 610-684-7135.

The pandemic has expedited Colonial's plans for providing one-to-one devices for all students. The program will help close the technology gap and give student ready access to a device even once the pandemic is over. In the meantime, it will also eliminate the sharing of technology between students once the students return to the buildings. 

• Kindergarten and First Grade: iPads

• Second and Third Grade: Laptops

• Fourth and Twelfth Grade: Chromebooks

• High school students taking specialty classes may receive a more robust laptop as necessary. 

If you help with navigating Canvas, understanding Google Classroom, or creating accounts that will help you stay on top of your child's assignments and more, click here to check out the easy to follow videos on our Tech Support Webpage.

If you continue have problems or are experiencing a technical issue, please email the Colonial Tech Support Help Desk at csdsupport@colonialsd.org or call 610-684-7135.

No. However, here are some links to low cost internet programs. 

Comcast

Comcast offers affordable Internet through their Internet Essentials program. New Internet Essentials customers will receive two free months of Internet service if you apply and are approved by December 31, 2020. After promotion, regular rates ($9.95/month — subject to change) apply.

Click here for information about Comcast Internet Essentials.

Click here for more information and an interactive map that shows Xfinity WiFi hotspots. 

Lifeline

If you or someone in your household participate in a federal assistance program, you may qualify for Lifeline, the Federal Communication Commission’s program that helps lower either monthly phone or internet costs. Lifeline provides a discount of $9.25 per month for either your phone or internet bill (but not both) and is limited to one discount per household.

Click here for more information on Lifeline.

Make sure your contact information is updated on each child’s emergency form in PowerSchool. Be sure to include a telephone number and a number on which you wish to receive texts. Follow Colonial School District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.