We Can't Let Our Guard Down

Managing the district response to COVID-19 and attention to our mitigation and safety plan has been an all consuming and number one priority above all else so far this school year. It takes constant reminders and a relentless commitment to procedures and protocols in order to keep everyone safe and healthy; and likewise our buildings open. If we let our guard down it could force us to close which is something that no one wants.

The decisions the district makes are executed with the guidance and at the direction of the health department following the protocols that have been articulated by the Iowa Department of Public Health. The health office here in our district is communicating with Black Hawk County daily about specific scenarios, and county superintendents have a standing meeting every Monday afternoon at 4:00 to discuss specific countywide metrics and to answer questions that we have in local school districts. 

If a student is at school and begins to present with symptoms that are outlined in our plan, they, along with all siblings in the household must be isolated from school and are encouraged to seek an evaluation by a health care provider. Unfortunately, if they [you] don't seek health care we have to treat the symptoms and subsequent absence as if it were a positive case. Even if the symptoms subside the following day. This is why it is so important to seek an evaluation. If a COVID test is completed and comes back negative, the student and siblings can return to school as soon as their symptoms improve and they have been fever free for 24 hours. 

So again, absent an alternative diagnosis with no health evaluation we required to treat it as if it were a positive case. This is what that means. The child who had symptoms has to stay home at least ten days since the symptoms began, they have been fever free for at least 24 hours, and all other symptoms have improved. Anyone else in the household has to stay at home in quarantine for 14 days since their last contact with the symptomatic individual. 

At the same time, we have a few students who have become quite savvy at figuring out the best way to get a one way ticket home: report that they are having two or more low risk symptoms. In this case, not only have they earned themselves a trip home, they very probably have done the same for their brothers or sisters. When this happens, it kicks in the protocols described in the paragraphs above. Of course the inverse is also true: we may very well have students who are masking symptoms (pun intended) with the goal of being able to stay in school. We can't have that either. Both are of course problematic and makes it difficult to manage an ever changing data set and the variables that go along with it. 

As you can probably imagine, this is a very challenging and complex issue to navigate. If you have questions about our protocols, please feel free to reach out. But please remember, we are following the guidance and direction of the health department. All we really want to do is keep our buildings open and keep people from getting sick.