Important Announcements at District OR1
Good afternoon,
As we move to the end of the week, I wanted to send a quick community update on our district.
COVID Cases and Student/ Staff Counts:
- Thank you again for your patience and understanding during this most unusual time. It seems like there has been a lot of information swirling around regarding our COVID cases (especially at the HS) and I know that trying to decipher what is (and what isn’t) accurate can be frustrating. The purpose of this update is to address some of the concerns we are hearing and clarify some additional information about our current COVID case counts and responses.
- Let’s start with an update on our district student and staff COVID cases. Through the month of September, we had six staff cases and 2 student cases that were confirmed COVID positive. All things considered, I was surprised that the number wasn’t higher. The fact that we have been able to stay in school since August is a testament to our students, staff, and community doing their best to mitigate the spread of the virus.
- Moving into October, things have changed a bit and our positive COVID case count has increased over the last several days. I am not sure exactly what to attribute this to, but we are addressing these cases as quickly and consistently as we can. Although there is lots of information floating out there, I wanted you to know that our official district COVID count (as of the writing of this update) is: Nine staff cases and ten student cases for a total of 19 confirmed positive COVID cases since the beginning of school in August.
- Please note that this total includes student and staff cases at both the elementary and the high school buildings and it includes staff and students who are currently quarantining and those who have already returned back to school.
- Additionally, there are some other cases currently pending and we are keeping an eye on how these turn out, but we are limited in our response until we have all of the information confirmed and have received health department guidance for moving forward.
Activities:
- Due to this increase in the number of COVID cases (especially at the high school), we have (out of an abundance of caution) decided to cancel the majority of our activities for this weekend. It is our hope that we will be able to return to action next week after we reassess our COVID numbers. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility with this decision.
Reporting and Responding:
- We greatly appreciate getting information about possible cases, but please understand that the opportunity for misinformation also exists. Sometimes we get things like, “could be”, “might be”, or “I heard” and although we do our best to gather all information, we want to make sure the information we have is accurate.
- In order to keep our responses consistent and ensure the information is accurate, we act on the cases where we have a positive confirmed case from an authenticated source. That authenticated source could be a parent reporting a positive test result, it could be the health department calling about a positive case, or it could be a doctor providing documentation about a positive case. Social media is a great tool, but having a student or family friend email you saying they are positive (or that they heard someone is positive) is fast information, but it is not confirmed information. Until a case is confirmed positive, it is only a rumor.
- When we do have a confirmed case from an authenticated source, we contact the local health department and they initiate the “contact tracing” process as soon as they are able. Contact tracing is done by the local health departments and it often takes several days to complete. In the meantime, we try to gather as much information as we can and inform students and parents if they are impacted by a positive case.
- In responding to these cases, our admin team has been very consistent and cognizant of keeping specific information about these positive cases confidential. That can be a bit frustrating and might leave you feeling “out of the loop”, but it is done in accordance with our confidentiality protocols.
- In every case, contact tracing takes place to try and establish “close contacts” and provide information that can be helpful in mitigating the virus. Just as we have done in the past, if a positive case happens, you will be notified if you (or your child) are impacted and need to quarantine or self-monitor.
What can we do to stay safe?
- In order to keep ourselves and our students safe, please continue to wear your masks at all times when you are in our buildings and at our facilities (even outside). Even though this is not always convenient, these measures do help immensely.
- Follow the updated Directed Health Measures by wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing whenever possible, practice good hygiene, and self-monitor for symptoms every day. Here is the link to the latest DHM: COVID 19 DHM
- If you hear that someone else is experiencing symptoms, please encourage them to go to the doctor and call the school if they receive a positive test result.
- If you receive a positive test result from your doctor or health care provider, please have them forward that information as soon as possible to the local health department.
- If you or your child go in for a COVID test, we are recommending that you (and anyone in your immediate family living under the same roof) quarantine until the results are known.
- We are also asking parents to take some extra time each morning to do a “symptoms check” on your child before they leave for the day. This extra little step can help us avoid a larger spread of the virus. There is a “symptoms check” listed below:
Symptom screening for COVID-19 at home can be helpful to determine if a student currently has an infectious illness that could impair their ability to learn, or is at risk of transmitting an infectious illness to other students or to school staff. Please complete this checklist with your child each morning before your child leaves for school.
Symptoms:
- Temperature 100.4 ℉ or higher
- Sore Throat
- New onset cough or difficulty breathing (a change in baseline cough for those students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough)
- Diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, or abdominal pain
- New onset headache
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
Future Updates:
- We are working to be more consistent about our COVID case updates to the community. Please stay tuned for more updates next week.
Wednesday, October 14th: COVID Response Day:
- This is just a reminder that next week, Wednesday October 14th is “no school” for students and this is a staff development day for all district staff. On this day, we will be focusing on enhancing our “remote learning” capabilities, readjusting our COVID response and communication plan, deep cleaning our buildings, and making curriculum adjustments to meet the learning needs of our students.
Have a great rest of your day and thank you again for your continued support of our district.
Mike