November 17, 2020
Dear Families:
The District was notified of a positive case of COVID-19 at Horace Mann Elementary. This is the first active case at that school the entire year. The Department of Health (DOH) worked with the School Nurse and Administration and concluded that two additional students are required to be quarantined.
I am recommending we stay open based on the following rationale:
- This decision still falls within the guidelines of our IASD Safety Plan where we indicated a range of 2-4 cases could result in a 3-7 day closure.
- This scenario is reflective of the benefits of the hybrid model as well as the 6 ft. social distancing guidelines the Board of Directors has implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus.
- The individual has not been at school since last week.
- The case does not originate from school; it was due to community spread.
The decision to remain open or to close is not one we take lightly. Please understand that a temporary closure could occur in the near future at any of our schools if the rates continue to rise. We take a great deal of time to look at each incident in a thorough manner as the details vary for each case. That is exactly why we built in the ranges that we did. In this case, we are still within the 2-4 range as identified in our Health Plan; however, our ability to remain open is fragile.
I realize that these are difficult times with the increased pressures the pandemic causes, and there are no guaranteed right or wrong answers at times due to the varying beliefs, attitudes, and opinions on the matter. On behalf of the entire District, please know we are doing all we can to remain open to provide educational programming to our students with safety at the forefront of our decision-making. We thank you all for what you have done already and thank you for the work that is to come. We truly appreciate you all.
Respectfully,
Mr. Michael J. Vuckovich
IASD Superintendent