School’s COVID plan still in place

With the variant of the COVID-19 virus becoming more prevalent, school administrators are taking many of the same precautions to be prepared. 

Superintendent Phillip Picquet outlined those measures during the Aug. 16 regular school board meeting. 

Principal Ben Jones said school would start with the same protocols the school was under at the end of the school year in May. 

Picquet said the intent is not to start school with masks. 

“We’d really like to have school start in a normal fashion for our kids. That’s really our goal and what we want to do, he said. 

They will closely monitor conditions and if it appears that cases are rising, he said they start will increased social distancing first.  

All of the sanitizing and cleaning routines undertaken last year will remain in place, he added. 

Elementary students don’t have the opportunity for a vaccine so will still follow the protocol and the plans followed last year, he said.

If a positive occurs, or another student is close by, it’s likely going to be a 10-day quarantine.

 With a doctor’s note and a negative test, students can come back in seven days.

Picquet said if a student has been vaccinated, and they’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive, “we don’t plan on making them go home and we don’t plan on making them wear a mask.”

What it really comes down to, Picquet said, “is we’re trusting parents and adults to do the right thing. If your student’s not feeling well or is sick, keep them home and communicate with the school. We’ll work with the online learning and the days missed,” he said.