A Safe Reopening: ISB's Reopening Plan

A Safe Reopening: ISB’s Reopening Plan

Shelley Bragg, Director of Marketing, Communications and Alumni

We were so pleased and fortunate to be able to open our campus safely for the start of our school year on August 10th. The opening was made possible by a combination of the stable situation in Thailand - thanks to measures taken by the Thai government in response to the pandemic - and also a robust and well-resourced reopening plan developed by our Director of Risk Management and Crisis Management Team. It has allowed us to bring all of our students back together, and for them to continue their learning, and the majority of their regular activities, in person.

As ISB looked to reopen, we were guided by two key principles:

1. The health and safety of students, staff, and our community are paramount, and 2. The educational and social emotional needs of students are best provided in a face to face environment on campus.

Our plan was reviewed by two safety consultancies at Control Risks (Singapore) and Clearpath Emergency Planning Management (USA) – as well as the US Embassy’s Bangkok RSO office and took into account the input and concerns of our parent community.

Our approach to ensuring safety encompassed six main areas based on research and expert advice: Physical Distancing, Campus Health Screening, Promotion of Hygiene (hand washing, wearing masks, respiratory hygiene), Cleaning & Disinfecting, Education & Training, and Communication.

Considerable financial investment was required to equip the campus in order to properly put this plan in place, with our biggest purchase being automatic turnstiles for each main entrance. We further “automated” the campus, to reduce high touch areas, by installing automated hand sanitizer dispensers and water refill stations. We installed additional wash basins and screen dividers in the cafeteria and classrooms where necessary. We also purchased additional disinfection materials and had them distributed throughout the campus for easy disinfecting and regular cleaning.

We took time to create a plan that incorporated the regulations from the Ministry of Education and OPEC, guidance from the CDC for school reopenings, and measures being taken by other international schools.

There was concern that the various safety measures that needed to be put in place, particularly the compulsory mask wearing and physical distancing, would create a stark change to school life. However, we have been pleased to see that students have adapted well and these measures have not restricted learning, connection or collaboration.

It’s been wonderful to see the campus bustling again and we want to extend our thanks to the entire community for your cooperation with these safety measures and remaining positive and supportive throughout.

Our thoughts continue to go out to those families in other places in the world, who are not yet able to return to regular schooling and we hope the situation improves for them soon.