Earlier this week, St. Aloysius School received notification from Tulare County that the school has been approved for the waiver to provide in-person instruction for grades Junior Kindergarten through 2. In-person instruction for those grades will begin on Monday, September 14. Though any families who prefer to continue with distance learning will have the opportunity to do so.
As part of the waiver application process, St. Aloysius School established a reopening plan demonstrating the school’s commitment to providing a safe learning environment for its students and working environment for its teachers and staff. The plan includes social distancing, mask wearing, schedule staggering, and increased sanitization.
Those returning to St. Aloysius School will also benefit from a notable facility improvement project: the installation of Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) devices in the 37 HVAC units throughout the school campus and parish. The devices have proven successful in demonstrating a 99.4% reduction rate on a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) surface strain within 30 minutes. NPBI uses cold plasma technology to create oxygen ions that are released into the air supply. These ions safely and effectively kill pathogens (viruses, mold, and bacteria), and attach to airborne particles to make them easier for an HVAC system to filter.
St. Aloysius students in grades 3 through 8 will continue with distance learning until either the numbers in the county meet the requirements for them to return to campus for in-person instruction, or the Diocese of Fresno approves the students returning to campus via a “cohort” model (no more than 14 students, supervised by two adults, learning via video conference in a socially distanced environment).
St. Aloysius School Principal Holly Zamora will be hosting a video conference meeting for the school’s families this week to answer questions about the reopening and provide a preview of what the campus and schedule will look like for the students as they return to school for in-person instruction.
We are thrilled to begin welcoming our St. Aloysius School family back to campus! For more information please go to St Aloysius website www.sastulare.com.