Dear TVSD Families,
We wanted to reach out to everyone as a follow-up to Monday night’s Board Meeting. At the meeting, the TVSD School Board approved the Administration’s recommendation to revise the Health & Safety Plan to provide greater flexibility for the District regardless. The most substantive change is related to close contacts and student quarantines. The revised plan is on the District website under Quicklinks, Covid-19 Resources, and 21-22 Covid-19 Resources.
As a result of the revised Health & Safety Plan, we now also have some changes in our District protocols for families related to positive Covid cases, close contacts, and quarantining. These changes are a result of District data analysis indicating that of the over 300 students that have been quarantined since the beginning of the year, only 2% have become Covid-positive. Below are some important details related to the changes.
General
- Per the Pa Department of Health (DoH) requirements, the number of positive cases and the number of close contacts are now reported weekly by building instead of daily.
- Whether or not a child quarantines if they are a close contact at school is now the parent’s choice. Therefore, parents now have two options.
- OPTION #1
- The child can quarantine for 10 days like before and still leverage livestreaming as an educational option for those 10 days.
- If the parent wants that for their child, they need to call or email their child’s building principal, and he/she will set that up and notify the appropriate teachers.
- OPTION #2
- The child can continue to attend school, but families must continue to monitor their child’s health using the Covid-19 Symptom Table.
- Being a close contact does not change whether a child must wear a mask or not.
- If a mask exemption form is on file for a child, it will be honored.
- The quarantine options shared above only apply to close contacts at school, not close contacts at home or outside of school.
- If a student is a close contact with someone in their home or someone outside of school that is Covid-positive, families should follow the guidance and recommendation from their family physician as to when the student can return to school.
Communication to Families – Close Contacts
- If your child is a close contact to a Covid-positive student at school, you will receive an email from your child’s school (SEE ATTACHED SAMPLE LETTER) explaining that they are a close contact to a Covid-positive student at school, that they have two options related to quarantining, and who to reach out to if they have questions.
- If you would prefer to receive a phone call instead of an email, please let the main office of your child’s school know, and we will use that preferred method of communication if your child is a close contact.
- However, if you prefer this method, your child will need to quarantine at school until you call the office and let us know of your decision on which quarantining option you are choosing.
Health Policies/Procedures
- The policies in place since the beginning of the year related to temperature monitoring, sending sick students home from school, the standing order on medications, and monitoring for symptoms have not changed.
- We would ask that you not send your child to school with an injury or illness for the nurse to diagnose.
- When evaluating your child to determine if they are too sick to come to school, please use the Covid-19 Symptom Table.
- The Health Policies/Procedures and Covid-19 Symptom Table are part of a document developed by the TVSD nurses and is attached to this message as a reference document for you (SEE ATTACHMENT).
- As we approach cold and flu season and with the greater flexibility we have woven into our quarantining and close contact protocols, we would ask that all parents keep children home if they are sick.
BCTC & TCHS Students
- If your child attends BCTC or TCHS, both have indicated that a student who is identified as a close contact will not be permitted to attend during the quarantine period.
- Since both BCTC and TCHS are not governed by our Board and Administration, their requirements supersede ours for any of our students that attend their buildings.
In closing, it is our desire to prioritize in-person learning in the District. Therefore, an examination of our local context and Covid positivity data related to close contacts indicates that our students need to have the option to continue to attend school in person if they are a close contact. Please know that we continue to focus on serving every student every day and appreciate the partnerships and cooperation with the Board, Administration, all staff, and families to make that focus a reality.
Thanks,
Patrick T. Winters, Ed.D.
Superintendent
CloseContactEmailtoParents.pdf
HealthPoliciesProcedures.pdf
