CSD Special Edition:
Summer news & updates
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Cedarburg Schools Re-Entry Plan Fall 2020
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As we look ahead to the upcoming school year and the important decisions on how we are handling COVID-19 in the school setting, we want to assure you that we are approaching this work thoughtfully and collaboratively. The health and safety of our students and employees and ensuring that we provide a rigorous, enriching and high-quality education for all students are our highest priorities.
Our goal is to inform and
provide you with an update every Wednesday throughout the summer months
as our re-entry plan is developed. As a district, we must prepare to be nimble, agile and flexible to handle the ever-evolving restrictions and guidance on COVID-19. The plans developed yesterday may look different than the plans developed tomorrow. The one constant is change. With this in mind,
please know that our plans will change
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A Message from Mr. Bugnacki
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CSD Re-entry Plan Webpage
The District re-entry team and administration are working to provide the Cedarburg learning community with guidance to prepare for, and conduct, an effective re-entry into school. Because experts continue to learn more about COVID-19 and the conditions surrounding the crisis are evolving, this guidance will likely change. We will continue to coordinate with local authorities, such as state and local health departments, health centers, consulting physicians and health-care providers, and update procedures based on the information received from these stakeholders. A district webpage dedicated to the details of our
Re-entry Plan can be found
here
. These web pages serve as a hub for updates related to the reopening of our schools. Here, you will find information as it is presented to the Board on potential school schedule changes, cleaning protocols in our buildings, health and safety measures, meal service procedures, and how we plan to provide students with access to technology. It also includes information on athletics and activities, along with answers to frequently asked questions. Visit this
Re-entry Plan
page for ongoing and regular updates as the team continues its work throughout July and early August.
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Superintendent, Todd Bugnacki
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Protective Mitigation Measures
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Student Services Director, Ted Noll and School District Nurse, Nicole Cofta
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The health and safety of our staff and students continue to be a top priority for the Cedarburg School District. Due to the rise in COVID-19 throughout the state of Wisconsin, and right here in our very own community, our school reentry plan continues to be reviewed, revised and edited, to most accurately reflect the current recommendations of Department of Health Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our local health department.
We have received many questions, comments and concerns from our school families and I would like to take this opportunity to address some of those questions at this time. These can also be found under the FAQ section of the Re-entry Plan webpage.
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Q:
Why are masks recommended for students vs. mandated? It is a fact that masks protect against the virus and limit its ability to transmit. Why is this an option for kids that can be swayed by the social pressures to not wear a mask
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A:
This is a topic that is currently being reviewed and discussed. It is our goal to keep the health and safety of our staff and students a top priority, and institute protocols that most accurately reflect the current recommendations.
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Q:
What is the plan when a student or teacher tests positive
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A
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If a staff member or student tests positive for COVID-19, that individual will not be allowed to return to school until the following three criteria are met:
- He or she is fever free for 72 hours, AND
- He or she is symptoms free for 72 hours, AND
- At least 10 days have passed since the start of symptom onset.
Contact tracing, which is the process of determining who had close contact with the person diagnosed with COVID-19, will be performed with all positive cases. Close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of the person diagnosed with COVID-19 for at least 15 cumulative minutes, 48 hours prior to the affected individual’s symptom onset. Any individual that was exposed to the affected individual, or is deemed a close contact, will have to complete 14 days of quarantine before being allowed to return to school or work. Even if the exposed individual tests negative prior to the end of the 14 day quarantine period, he or she will not be allowed to return until the 14 days of quarantine have been completed due to the incubation period of COVID-19 extending to 14-day timeframe.
In all cases, the Cedarburg School District will work closely with the Ozaukee Washington Public Health Department and follow the guidance provided by the CDC and Department of Health Services whenever a positive case arises.
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Q:
Will potentially exposed students, teachers and administration require a negative test before returning to the school
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A:
At this time any student or staff member that has been exposed to someone positive for COVID-19 will need to complete 14 days of quarantine. A negative test received prior to the completion of the 14 days of quarantine would not be valid, because the exposed individual may become symptomatic on day 14, but not on day 9 when the person was tested and not yet infected. Requiring a negative test result at the end of quarantine is something that we will clarify with the health department.
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Q:
How many students and teachers testing positive is ‘acceptable’
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At this time there is no designated number of what may be considered an “acceptable” number of cases, but the Cedarburg School District will work closely with the health department in all instances.
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Q:
What if a student was exposed in his/her classroom to one diagnosed with COVID and that exposed student had siblings in another class, will that whole class also need to quarantine
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A:
The only students that will be required to quarantine are those that have direct contact/exposure to the individual diagnosed with COVID-19. That direct contact is one that was within 6 feet of the positive individual for at least 15 cumulative minutes. If a student was exposed to a fellow student that tested positive for COVID-19 in his/her classroom, any siblings of that direct contact/exposed student, WILL NOT need to quarantine because the siblings of the exposed student did not have contact with the infected individual.
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Q:
What if a student is diagnosed with COVID-19 and he/she has siblings in other grades or classes, will those siblings need to quarantine as well
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A
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Yes. Because the siblings most likely share spaces at home and the infected sibling will not be able to isolate themself from other family members. In addition, not only will the siblings need to remain home for the duration of the infected sibling’s illness, but their official quarantine will not start until the infected sibling has been released from home isolation. This means that the siblings of the infected sibling could be out of school for three weeks or more.
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It is important to note that guidance continues to evolve and change. We continue to work very hard to remain current in any and all recommendations provided by the CDC, Department of Health Services and our local health department.
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C&I Director, Alan Groth; Student Services Director, Ted Noll;
Technology & Assessment Director, Kirstin Rose,
Data & Assessment Coordinator, Deanna Nelson and Digital Learning Coach, Krista Penrod
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Cedarburg School District is committed to each student’s learning success. Currently, the district is well underway with developing safety protocols to make learning inside Cedarburg Schools as safe as possible. To this end, the district is preparing to provide instruction through two learning environments: 1)
Primary Instruction
(where students attend school inside district schools); and 2)
Virtual Instruction
(where students attend school from home and receive synchronous and asynchronous learning content). The second option is available to families who may have compromised family health, or who believe this instructional platform best meets their child(ren)s needs at this time. Watch for an up-and-coming communication from the district where parents will be asked to inform the district of their placement preferences for each child in their household.
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Parent Survey
The district is working on providing a safe return to school this fall. As a reminder, an email was sent last Friday inviting you to participate in a survey. The survey is to identify your intentions regarding your child(ren) returning to school this fall during the current pandemic. This information will assist in developing the Re-entry Plan for fall 2020. The survey will close on Friday, August 24.
Additional surveys are possible as we work through the development of our Re-entry Plan. Your feedback is important to us!
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District Communications & Newsletters
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Karen Egelhoff, Communications Coordinator
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