Welcoming Students Back to School 2022!

 

Dear CVSD Families and Caregivers,

We hope you all have enjoyed this break from our normal routines and enjoyed “COVID safe” time with family and friends. We are excited to welcome students and staff back to school this week, but want to be sure that we’re doing so in as safe a manner as possible. We continue to live through this ever-changing pandemic, and we are committed to keeping our schools safe and open for in-person instruction.

This letter, like a few of ours recently, is rather long. We want to be sure that we are answering the questions many of you may have. We appreciate you taking the time to read it all of the way through.

It’s hard not to be aware of the rapid spread of the latest COVID-19 variant - Omicron. Although it appears that the severity of cases is milder, we do know that it is significantly more contagious than the Delta variant and it has rapidly gained a foothold in our state. Anticipating a post holiday spike in cases, we need all families to help us keep our schools open by using the four most effective tools: vaccinations, testing, masking, and social distancing.

Vaccinations: It is well understood that vaccines decrease the severity of disease and risk of hospitalization even if you contract the virus. Furthermore, students who are identified as close contacts but are fully vaccinated can remain in school without participating in test-to-stay. This is important because we have space and resource limitations to the number of students who can participate in Test to Stay on any one day. Once we exceed that number, unvaccinated close contacts will once again only have the option of the seven or ten day quarantine at home.

Testing: You may have picked up an at-home test kit at one of the distribution sites or have obtained them in another way. To report results from taking an at-home COVID-19 test, please fill out this form for the Department of Health. We would also appreciate it if you would share information with us about any positive cases, by contacting your school's nurse.

Masks: The Vermont Agency of Education and Department of Health continue to encourage masking in schools and other indoor gatherings. Masks are required in our schools. Please make sure you are sending your child(ren) to school each day with masks that fit well and are comfortable.

Social Distancing: For vaccinated students, participation in indoor activities while masked can be safe and healthy for their physical and emotional wellbeing. Avoid indoor activities where students are unable to remain masked (eating, sleeping), crowds, or where ventilation may not be adequate.

Isolation Time for Positive Cases: Last week, the CDC released updated guidance reducing the isolation timeline after testing positive from 10 days to 5. We, along with other school districts in Vermont, have adopted this new guidance. Please see this document for more information about what this means. There are very specific rules to follow before returning to school when a person tests positive for COVID-19. Our schools will administer an antigen test to students returning to school 5 days after a positive result before they start the school day. We very much want students back in school, but only if they’re healthy!

Close Contacts: We will have Test-to-Stay up and running in our schools again later this week. Remember, Test to Stay is designed for those who may have had a school exposure, are unvaccinated, and asymptomatic. Fully vaccinated students do not need to participate in Test-to-Stay in order to attend school. Even with Test To Stay (TTS) in place, students are expected to quarantine (other than school) until they get a negative test result on the 7th day after their exposure. This document (also seen in the section above) provides updated information about what to do if your child is a close contact. This page on the Vermont Department of Health’s site offers additional information.

Mitigation Strategies in School: As far as school goes, we have all of the following mitigation practices in place and will continue to use them. Over the next few weeks, we will make a deep recommitment to these common-sense strategies:

• Anyone experiencing symptoms stays home or is sent home by the health office
• Masking properly (nose covered) whenever we are indoors
• Limit maskless periods by tightly managing snack times
• Students should put their masks back on immediately when finished eating
• Handwashing and sanitizing frequently
• Cohort management - classes stay together and dine together with no unnecessary cohort mixing
• Assigned seats on school transportation and in classrooms to assure accurate contact tracing
• Using open windows in classrooms, dining areas, and on school transportation to add to ventilation. This is especially helpful at times where students are eating or snacking in classrooms.

Steps for Families/Caregivers: As we work to ensure the safety of our students, staff, family, and community members, please consider the following steps that could help us navigate this period successfully:

• Re-address proper mask-wearing and its importance with your child and make sure you are sending them to school each day with masks that fit well and are comfortable.
• Mask up when going out in the community and gathering, regardless of vaccination status.
• Continue to get vaccinations and boosters for eligible members of your family. Remember that students are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose of vaccine. For those that are eligible, get a booster vaccination.
• Keep students who are experiencing symptoms home from school and get a negative PCR test before returning to school.
• Be kind to our nurses, administrators, and staff when they call to report an exposure. We know that the news we are delivering is disheartening, discouraging, and inconvenient. But, we are doing the absolute best we can to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our students and this is an essential part of that process.

Finally, please know that CVSD administration and staff are equally as disappointed, challenged, and frustrated at these ongoing pandemic disruptions as you are. The Delta variant derailed our hope for a return to normalcy this fall; Omicron is hindering our ability to connect and learn, as well as our ability to hire new staff to fill our many open positions. We are working hard to keep our schools open, and we are counting on CVSD families to join us in this important effort.

We appreciate your support, communication, and dedication to keeping staff and students safely in school. We are ready to welcome students back for the first day of school in 2022!

Rene Sanchez, Superintendent