December 14, 2021
Dear Independence Local Schools’ Families,
As you have heard, the number of positive cases of Covid-19 being reported in our schools has been increasing, with our December count already exceeding any other month. Cases per hundred thousand in the county, county positive % rates, and 44131 data all show corresponding increases. Just today, and perhaps a more important measure for caution, we believe there may be school-based transmission of Covid-19. Yesterday’s and today’s cases being reported in these updates (details below) are the highest we’ve had in a two-day period.
As an increasing amount of staff and students are impacted, the concern of school-based spread and absence rates are beginning to present operational challenges. I believe keeping our schools open for our kids is critical to their success. Nobody in our schools wants to return to remote learning. Because of these challenges, I will be putting a short-term mask mandate in place for Independence Primary, Middle and High School to finish this week and for the week we return after winter break. (12/15/21-1/7/22). Our Board of Education will review and discuss the end or extension of this mandate at our Organizational Meeting on 1/6/22.
Again, the Independence Local Schools, Pre-K through 12th grade, will begin a mask mandate for all individuals while inside the school buildings during the school day. Individuals are still under the CDC’s mandate for universal masking on school buses.
After-school activities will continue to follow operations as they have been. The temporary mask mandate will only apply during regular school hours.
If students have a medically prescribed mask exemption, please contact your principal for further discussion and review.
In our most recent cases and in addition to yesterday’s, we had positive tests for:
- Two 6th-grade students, who had family contact, with 12 close contacts
- A 7th-grade student, with 7 close contacts
- An 8th-grade student, with 7 close contacts
- An 11th-grade student, with 12 close contacts
- Another 11th-grade student, with 7 close contacts
- A 12th-grade student, with 1 close contact.
- An adjustment to yesterday’s update - our central office employee had 1 student and 7 staff close contacts.
- We are currently contact-tracing on two new reports of positive tests at IMS, those will be in my next update.
We will continue to update our district’s Covid-19 information weekly through our dashboard, which is available on our district website.
If you have any questions, contact Tom Dreiling at 216/642-5852, me at 216/642-5850, or the Cuyahoga County Board of Health at 216/201-2000. Thank you for helping to keep people safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community and school.
For answers to your COVID-19 questions, call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634) or visit coronavirus.ohio.gov. Resources from the CDC include:
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you or a loved one are experiencing anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call the COVID-19 CareLine at 1-800-720-9616.
Sincerely,
Ben Hegedish
Superintendent
Independence Local Schools
