Q:  Are students and staff required to conduct daily health screenings?
A:  Yes. Health screening is mandatory for all students, staff and essential visitors. Parents are responsible for screening student health every day prior to a student boarding a school bus or entering a building. Staff members are required to conduct their own daily screening. The screening must include a temperature check and assessment of illness-related symptoms. Parents allowing a child to board a school bus or students/staff entering the school building for the instructional program are verifying that a health screen has been completed and that the child/staff member has not:

Been designated a contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19 by a local health department.

Tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days.

Tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 in the past 10 days;

Experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, including a temperature of greater than 100°F, in the past 10 days; and/or

Travelled internationally to a CDC level 2 or 3 COVID-19 related health notice country; or traveled to a state or territory on the NYS Travel Advisory List: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory.

Q:  Can my child be infected with COVID-19 at school?
A:  Yes. Just like any other infectious disease or the common cold, students can be  exposed in the school setting. The District is following the protocols provided by  the Centers for Disease Control and New York State. Following the protocols reduces risk of exposure to COVID-19 but does not guarantee that students will not be exposed to illness.

Q:  Why doesn’t the district use the plastic barriers on desks?
A:  The CDC no longer considers the plastic barriers as one of its mitigation  measures. The mitigation measures are: vaccination, masks, distance, handwashing/respiratory etiquette, testing, contact tracing, and disinfecting.

Q:  How do I find out the current health statistics for cases in the school district?
A:  The school district provides a weekly update on the latest health statistics for  individuals who are considered as COVID-19 positive by the local health department. The update is posted each Wednesday afternoon on the News section of the District’s homepage.

Q:  What is a close contact?
A:  Close contacts are designated by the local health department. In making that  designation, the health department considers whether or not individuals were masked, distance between people, and the amount of time spent with a person considered positive.

Q:  What are ways for students to reduce the chances of being in close contact?
A:  There are no guarantees. Properly wearing masks, full series of COVID-19  vaccinations (12 years and older), and maintaining distance to the extent  possible are all elements to maximize personal health and safety. These are factors considered by the local health department.

Q:  Is it possible for classes to be required to move to fully remote learning?
A:  Yes. Based on specific health data and the direction of the local health  department, in-person learning for a classroom of students may move to full remote learning for a time period authorized by the local health department and in concert with the CDC guidelines for mitigation of COVID-19 exposure. Each situation is handled based on the specific circumstances.

Q:  Who makes the decision about close contacts and mandatory quarantines?
A:  The local health department. If an individual is a close contact to someone else  who the health department considered positive for COVID-19, the health department will require contact tracing. Should a student be expected to quarantine, a parent will be given a courtesy notice by the school district and official notice by the health department’s contact tracers.

Q:  Who determines timeframes for mandatory isolation and quarantine?
A:  The local health department based on CDC’s public health recommendations. 

Q:  Are there cleaning protocols in place?
A:  As identified in the Reopening Plan, the district adheres to hygiene, cleaning, and  disinfection requirements from the CDC. These requirements apply to surfaces  including but not limited to buses and high touch areas.
 

If your child is ill, please do not send them to school. 

We must all work together to reduce the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus and its effects on our children.