April 2, 2021
Dear VCS Staff and Families:
Our schools have been opened with little interruption since August 2020, compared with many schools across the country during the pandemic. The recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Valdez cases is concerning, but it has led us to reassess how we react to outbreaks.
As we proceed, the number of confirmed cases at an individual school will be a significant factor in deciding whether to close that school. The district prefers to make closings as granular as possible and will preferably shut down an individual classroom or grade level rather than a whole school. Unless the situation changes over the weekend, we plan on having a controlled re-entry for all students to in-person learning. This staggered entry allows us to safely navigate through the health status of all students as they return to in-person learning. As new information is presented, we may have to adjust entry dates for the different grade levels and will inform parents and guardians of any changes as soon as possible.
Week of April 5, 2021
Monday – PreK – Grade 3 will begin in-person learning
Tuesday – Grades 4-5 will begin in-person learning
Wednesday – Grade 6 will begin in person learning
Thursday – Grades 7-8 will begin in person learning
Week of April 12, 2021
Monday – Grades 9-12 will begin in-person learning
Meal Service
Meal pick will be available between 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at GMS for HHES, GMS and VHS students on Monday and Tuesday. Starting Wednesday, meal pick can be arranged by contacting Amber Cockerham. Parents must email Amber at acockerham@valdezcityschools.
If your student has had a recent COVID-19 test (up to 3 days prior to start of class), we ask that you provide documentation to the office.
We have had our first vaccination clinic for 16-18 year old students and will be offering a second clinic on April 16, 2021 through Public Health to students 16 years and older who not make it to the first clinic. This factor has been a key component to why we will have high school students back to school in-person learning so soon. Once students have reached two weeks past their second vaccination they will have taken the greatest step towards mitigation of COVID-19 and we no longer will need to quarantine these students if direct contacts, lessening the workload for our office staff and school nurse.
Our school district will move away from the number of resident cases to determine our phasing criteria. We will be adopting a more tactical response and continue following the proven protocols that have worked all year. How COVID-19 has been handled has changed over the school year, and our responses should adjust with these changes. Now that a high percentage of staff and community members are vaccinated and given strong safety measures, schools can and should stay open even in the face of significant community spread as long as safety measures are provided and followed. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. It is our responsibility to make decisions based on the unique needs of our community.
The following guidance highlights current medical knowledge of how COVID-19 is transmitted, primarily through close physical contact, activities during which aerosol particles might be emitted, and touching shared surfaces or objects.
Some of our protective measures in school settings include but not limited to:
- Social distancing, achieved by establishing and, for the maximum number of days possible, maintaining small groups of individuals that minimally interact with other groups or individuals, including in shared indoor spaces;
- Wearing masks according to city mandates;
- Monitoring students and staff for symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, etc.; and
- Practicing frequent environmental cleaning and handwashing.
School Planning for COVID-19 Cases
- Given the levels of COVID-19 currently in our community, we plan for and expect that some students will get COVID-19 during the remaining school year.
- We expect that there will be students who get COVID-19 and that those students will possibly expose other students/staff in the school setting.
- Students who are sick should stay home (regardless of illness).
- Students who have COVID-19 should stay home and quarantine until they have been determined to no longer be infectious by medical professionals.
- Students who were a close contact upon testing negative after days 5, 6, and 7 of quarantine may return to school on day 8 with no symptoms. Students may return to school without a negative test result on day 11 as long as they are symptom free.
- Individuals who were in close contact of the student may be identified and contacted as part of the Public Health contact tracing process.
- Close contact of a case is a person who was less than six feet away from the student for more than 15 minutes, determined by the Public Health contact tracing process.
- Close contacts will be quarantined for 10 days and will need to monitor symptoms for 14 days.
- With a positive in the school, not every student/faculty member in a school will need to stay home for 10 days, just those who are identified as close contacts to a case.
- Steps taken when a student or staff member has been identified as having COVID-19.
- Communication of plan to faculty, parents and students
- Ensure continuity of education for students/staff who are in quarantine
- Plans for both routine and “deep” cleaning
- Prepare plans for school closures (3-5 days) if the school environment is determined to be a source of ongoing COVID-19 spread
- The decision to close schools is an individual, case-by-case process, not predicated solely on local active cases. That decision will ultimately be made by school leadership, with guidance and expertise from medical professionals.
- All decisions about implementing school-based strategies (e.g., dismissals, event cancellations, other social distancing measures) will be in collaboration with the superintendent/principal and medical professionals.
- Factors that will be considered in closing a school or classroom will be the level of community transmission, number of students/faculty affected and risk of spread at the school.
Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention:
Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People:
https://www.cdc.gov/
Sincerely,
Shawn Arnold
Superintendent of Schools
Valdez City Schools
Valdez COVID-19 Unified Command Website
COVID-19 Superintendent Letter April 2, 2021