School Reopening Working Groups

On Monday, May 18, 2020, Governor John Carney and Secretary of Education Susan Bunting announced a public strategy to plan for the safe reopening of Delaware school buildings. Three COVID-19 School Reopening working groups have been formed to advise the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), Delaware school districts and charter schools on ways to safely and effectively reopen Delaware school buildings: health and wellness, academics and equity, and operations and services. In April, Governor Carney closed Delaware public school buildings for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year due to the threat of COVID-19.

The purpose of the School Reopening Working Groups is to develop recommendations for the Secretary of Education, superintendents and charter leaders to consider as they create by July 15 a comprehensive, actionable plan for re-opening school buildings once that decision has been made by the Governor’s Office. Three working groups – Health and Wellness, Academics and Equity, and Operations and Services – will develop recommendations for each of the following public health scenarios in relation to their assigned focus:

• If minimal community spread exists in Delaware (and school buildings re-open)
• If minimal-to-moderate community spread exists in Delaware (situation dependent)
• If significant community spread exists in Delaware (and school buildings remain closed)

Delaware Returning to School Guidance

• Returning to School Guidance document - En español - Guidance and support document for districts and charters as they plan for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Essential safety protocols are included and required to be implemented by all Delaware schools, pre-K through grade 12. These health and safety protocols have been informed by the recommendations of the COVID-19 School Reopening working groups and finalized by the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) in collaboration with DDOE.
• Returning to School FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for districts and charter schools as they plan for the 2020-21 school year. 

Public Comment

The following public comments have been submitted to the School Reopening Working Groups. Comments and ideas will be accepted through Friday, July 3, 2020 via email at reopeningideas@doe.k12.de.us or voicemail at 302-735-4244. All comments are forwarded to the working group committees for review. Comments are posted to this website each week. Please check back often for updates.

• Public Comment June 26 - July 4, 2020
• Public Comment June 18 - June 26, 2020
• Public Comment June 12 - June 18, 2020
• Public Comment June 5 - June 12, 2020
• Public Comment May 29 - June 5, 2020
• Public Comment through May 29, 2020

Upcoming Meetings

The public is encouraged to participate in the virtual School Reopening Working Group meetings. All meetings will be livestreamed on the Delaware Department of Education YouTube channel. Additional meeting information, including agendas, will be posted on the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar. Comments and ideas will be accepted via email at reopeningideas@doe.k12.de.us or voicemail at 302-735-4244. All comments are forwarded to the working group committees for review.

Meeting Archives

• Thursday, July 2, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
  • Draft recommendations (provided in lieu of the July 2 meeting)
• Wednesday, July 1, 2020 - Academics and Equity committee
  • Draft recommendations
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Chat transcript
• Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
  • Draft recommendations
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Chat transcript
• Thursday, June 25, 2020 - Operations and Services committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Chat transcript
• Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - Academics and Equity committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Chat transcript
• Tuesday, June 23, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Chat transcript
• Thursday, June 18, 2020 - Operations and Services committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Wednesday, June 17, 2020 - Academics and Equity committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Thursday, June 11, 2020 - Operations and Services committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - Academics and Equity committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Thursday, June 4, 2020 - Operations and Services committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - Academics and Equity committee
  • Recorded YouTube livestream
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Tuesday, June 2, 2020 - Health and Wellness committee
• Recorded YouTube livestream
• Meeting presentation
• Meeting transcript
• Meeting chat transcript
• Thursday, May 28, 2020 - Initial meeting
  • Recorded YouTube livestream - mp4
  • Meeting presentation
  • Meeting transcript
  • Meeting chat transcript
• Thursday, May 21 (cancelled) - Initial meeting 

DDOE sincerely apologizes for this Reopening Schools Workgroup meeting crashing. We used the platform we regularly use and it simply could not hold the volume of callers wanting to participate. While we are as frustrated as you are, we are encouraged by the number of Delawareans wanting to participate. As we have learned during this time of COVID, we are all learning to do new things, and we learned we need a larger platform for a call of this size. For inconveniencing anyone, we are very sorry.

Working group members