The Southern Regional Education Board considers the health and safety of all who attend the 2022 Making Schools Work Conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center — including our attendees, staff, partners and on-site service providers — as our top priority. We are committed to facilitating optimal health and safety conditions throughout our event, as described in our Duty of Care statement.

All attendees will be required to adhere to the on-site health and safety practices below.

In partnership with the Gaylord Texan, SREB will provide:

• Responsible food and beverage service, seating, traffic flows and barriers for meeting spaces.
   
• Appropriate signage to reinforce health and safety practices.
   
• Electrostatic cleaning of all meeting rooms overnight or in the early morning and during lunch breaks.
   
• Enhanced health and sanitization protocols and practices outlined in Marriott’s Commitment to Clean.

All attendees will be required to follow these health and safety practices:

Social distancing, room sets and air flow

• Attendees should leave at least six feet between themselves and the individual closest to them.
   
• Meeting rooms, general sessions, special events and dining areas will be set to promote social distancing by SREB’s Conference Team and the Gaylord Texan.
  • Signs outside each meeting room will indicate maximum occupancy. If all of the seats in a room are taken, do not bring in extra seating, sit on the floor or stand at the back of the room or in the doorway.
  • Do not move tables and chairs in any meeting rooms, general sessions or dining areas.
• Meeting room doors should be left open at all times to allow air circulation. This may increase noise.

Traffic flow

• Signage and barriers will indicate the direction of traffic flow and designated entry and exit doors in highly populated areas like the Texas Ballroom and the Education Marketplace in the Grapevine Ballroom.
   
• During general sessions and other large gatherings, SREB staff will direct attendees to fill seats at the front of the room first and exit following a last-in, first-out model to encourage social distancing.

Masks

• All attendees must wear a mask over the nose and mouth while in public areas, including in meeting rooms, general sessions and special events. Attendees may remove their masks while eating or drinking or when they are outdoors, provided they are also socially distancing. Mask tips:

  • Ensure that the mask covers your nose and mouth.
  • Wash your hands before putting on your mask.
  • Put the same side against your face each time to avoid wearing the “dirty side” against your face.
  • Remove your mask using the straps to avoid touching the part that protects your face.
  • Wash your reusable mask daily after using it.
• Attendees will receive a reusable fabric mask in their conference bags, available in the Education Marketplace in the Grapevine Ballroom. Additional disposable masks will be available for attendees at Conference Headquarters outside the Texas Ballroom and at SREB’s booth in the Grapevine Ballroom.
• You may bring and wear your own masks, face shields or other personal protective equipment.
   
• Attendees who refuse to wear a mask or persist in wearing their mask improperly will be asked to leave the conference and may be refused a refund of their registration fees.

Hand Washing and Sanitizing

• Attendees should frequently wash their hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds. At minimum, wash your hands at the beginning and end of each day or refreshment break and after using the restroom, sneezing, touching your eyes, nose or mouth, eating or drinking, etc.
   
• Attendees should use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol when a sink is not available. A personal-sized hand sanitizer will be provided to each attendee in our conference bags. Additional hand sanitizer stations will be positioned throughout the venue.

Equipment and High-Touch Surfaces

• Microphones, headphones and other equipment should not be shared, and should be sanitized before and after each use. Our on-site AV provider will sanitize in-room AV equipment.
   
• Try to avoid using your fingertips to touch commonly used items, such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, light switches, etc. Try using a pen, object, elbow or a tissue to touch these items.

Daily Health Attestation

Prior to coming to the conference, and at the start of each day of the conference, attendees will be asked to complete a health attestation to confirm they do not have a fever of 100.4 Fahrenheit or higher, have not experienced COVID-19 symptoms, and have not had close contact with someone with a known or suspected COVID-19 case. If you answer yes to any of these questions, do not attend the conference.

If You Become Ill

If you should become ill during or after the conference, or know of an attendee who has become ill, please contact a member of SREB’s Conference Team or email summerconference@sreb.org immediately. SREB will notify local health authorities of suspected cases of COVID-19 while protecting the confidentiality of your personal health information.

Your Personal Accountability Commitment

By attending the 2022 Making Schools Work Conference in Grapevine, Texas, you agree to abide by and engage in certain health and safety practices while attending the event. This includes, but is not limited to, adhering to health and safety requests made by SREB staff and venue personnel and not attending the conference if you are ill or have been recently exposed to a known or suspected case of COVID-19.

This page was last revised August 26, 2021.

The image on this landing page is used courtesy of the Alliance for Excellent Education.