Our district remains committed to retaining in-person learning. We want to follow the safest path for all students, balanced with the best climate in which to learn. In the fall, because of the severity of the COVID-19 virus and the high positivity rates, our Safety Plan required that masks be worn by all staff, students, and visitors in our schools. This mitigation, along with several others, helped keep our schools safe, and made in-person learning possible.
Now, COVID-19 rates are low within our service area (our primary four zip codes) and our district, the severity of the virus has decreased, and more is known about masks. Because of those reasons we have made significant updates to our district Safety Plan.
Beginning February 17th, wearing masks is strongly recommended in all school buildings. However, masks must be worn on buses and in driver education vehicles, unless an approved face mask exemption is in place. Students and staff that want to wear a mask should consider the type of mask that provides them the greatest protection, information about masks from CDC can be found here.
A large part of our commitment to having a safe place for students to learn is maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment. We need all students and staff to feel accepted regardless of their choice to wear a mask or not.
Our community is not all in agreement on whether wearing a mask is best, but we need to be unified in our message that bullying or harassing is not in the best interest of students, staff, or our community at large. It is time to come together, and to move forward in our goal to educate students and help them succeed to their highest potential. Please encourage students to bring any concerns up to their teacher, building administrator, or another trusted adult so they can be addressed.
Two other significant changes have been made to our plan. Persons who are identified as a close contact to COVID-19, but have no symptoms, will not be required to quarantine, unless directed by the local health department. Testing will remain highly recommended following an exposure, but not required as a condition of return. Returning to school after a COVID-19 infection and following five days of isolation, requires wearing a mask for days 6-10; alternatively a full 10 days of isolation can be completed and return without restrictions.
While we will continue to monitor area metrics, changes in mitigation measures will occur based on our own trends within student and staff COVID-19 case data. Please follow this link to the highlights of our updated safety plan. The revised Safety Plan has been posted online.
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