Dear CTA students, parents, faculty, and staff,

As we approach the end of winter the current COVID surge is receding rapidly.  Back in August of 2020 we were one of only a few schools able to provide in-person education, and stringent precautions were necessary.  Since that time, however, more options for prevention and treatment have become available. For example:

  • COVID vaccines and boosters are readily available and safe.
  • Vaccination remains highly protective against contracting severe disease (i.e., disease that requires hospitalization or an admission to the intensive care unit, or results in mortality).
  • While break-through infections can occur in vaccinated individuals with the Omicron variant (the current primary variant circulating in the United States), these infections have not generally been associated with severe disease in vaccinated individuals.  
  • There are increasing numbers of effective treatments available for children with COVID infections.

In addition, the current Omicron wave is significantly subsiding: rates of hospitalizations in the State of Ohio have decreased over the last several weeks, and positivity rate percentages have dropped as well. As we have all seen many schools our area have or are about to become mask optional.

This leads us to  believe that we can safely change aspects of our COVID-19 policy without adding to the public health burden or compromising the safety of our community members. The country’s move towards less stringency by many institutions indicates that the time is right for us to start adjusting our approach. Further, protecting the mental, social, and emotional health of our children is a key priority. As such, we will make masks optional beginning the week of February 27th.  The following policies will not change:

  • Children who are ill will not be allowed to come to school.
  • Children who are returning after a COVID infection will still have to wear a mask through day 10.
  • Children who are vaccinated and have a household close contact, or children who are unvaccinated and have any close contact will have to wear masks through day 10 of exposure.
  • Parents will still be notified if there is a positive COVID case in their child’s class.
  • The COVID dashboard will be kept up to date.
  • Bus policies requiring masks will stay in place.  Those are rules that are mandated by the bus companies.

We are aware of the need to proceed deliberately and carefully in the face of an unpredictable virus. In conjunction with the MAC and the Executive Committee of the Board, we will closely monitor the number of infections in the school as well as in the community in the weeks following this change. 

We ask for everyone to embrace each family’s or individual’s choice of whether to wear a mask or not.  Many will need to wear masks or choose to wear masks, particularly those vulnerable for health reasons, and they should be able to do so without judgment.

Lastly, although we hope that the present positive trends continue, the possibility always exists that we may re-institute mask wearing requirements  if conditions change.

Respectfully,

Rabbi Drandoff, Head of School

Executive Committee of the CTA Board
Raanan Lefkovitz, President
Naomi Myers, Vice President
Robin Garvin, Board Member
Victoria Ilin, Chair of Finance Committee
Bob Wolf, Immediate Past President