Page 4 | SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD
School board from front A requirement of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the new plan was developed with input from the community. The plan was posted for feedback from the public from late June through July, but Bergstrom said the district received the most feedback from the community in the 10 days before his Aug. 9 presentation. No one from the public voiced input during the board meeting. The plan is designed to be exible and responsive as new information becomes available, according to Bergstrom. “Things change constantly,” he said. “This is where we’re at today. It can look different; it may look different.” Strategies were developed based upon guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Education. Vaccinations not required Students are not required to be vaccinated or prove vaccination status in order to attend Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools. Masks are optional at school, mandatory on buses Students, staff and visitors will not be required to wear face coverings on school grounds but will have the option to wear them in all district buildings. “If somebody chooses to wear a face covering in an optional setting, it’s perfectly OK,” Bergstrom said. “There’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever.” Face coverings remain required on all modes of district transportation. Face coverings must be worn at all times on school buses and school vans. This is a federal requirement, mandated by the CDC, not an arbitrary rule set by the district, Bergstrom said. Students ages 2 and up will be required to wear face coverings at all times on school buses and vans. Face coverings will be required on district bus and van transportation to and from school as well as extracurricular activities, such as athletic games. Drivers, staff, coaches and other adults are also required to wear face coverings on buses and vans. The previous mandate required children 5 and older to wear face coverings, but new legislation has lowered the age requirement to 2 years. This means the new rule now includes early childhood learners. Board member Lisa Loidolt asked how the district would handle situations involving students who do not comply with the mask requirement on school buses and vans. Bergstrom said the district will make every effort to work with the families of those students to ensure compliance.
NEWS
“We need to work with everybody to help them understand that this is not something we’ve decided; it’s something that has to be done,” Bergstrom said. Board chair Ryan Butkowski asked if Bergstrom anticipated fewer students riding the bus due to the masking requirement. “Based upon the feedback I’ve been getting, I would not be surprised if we had fewer students riding the bus this year,” Bergstrom said. The district will supply face coverings at school buildings and on buses and vans. “We’ll be ordering more face coverings in case there’s a need for that,” Bergstrom said. “I would rather us have too many in the end than not enough. We will continue to make sure those are supplied for families.” Social distancing Social distancing will be practiced to the extent possible in district buildings, Bergstrom said. Students and staff will, however, resume the use of large spaces such as gyms, cafeterias and media centers. Classroom layouts will remain as open as possible, with the goal of maximizing physical space to the best of their abilities, Bergstrom said. Close contact noti cation The district will notify parents and guardians if a child is within 6 feet of someone or in the same room with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Parents and guardians may then choose to quarantine their child, but it is not a requirement. “That will be family choice,” Bergstrom said. Last year, siblings of students who tested positive were also required to quarantine. This year, that will not be required, but families may choose to do so. Families of all students who come in close contact will be noti ed, not just those who are unvaccinated. The district does not keep record of who is vaccinated or not. The new protocols are predicated on family choice. “We are going to trust that families are going to do what’s best,” Bergstrom said of students who come in close contact with someone who tested positive. “Ultimately, if they are symptomatic – vaccinated or not – the preference is that they stay home because we don’t want that to spread.” That goes for any illness, not just COVID-19. “We have this Midwest belief that, ‘You know what? If I’m sick, I’m going to come to work, or I’m going to school and I’m going to power through it,’” Bergstrom said. “We need to be very aware that if you’re not feeling good, the best course of action is to stay home until you have no symptoms. I don’t care if it’s a cold or COVID, or anything in
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Safe return to learning plan bullet points – Masks are optional in school buildings, mandatory on school transportation. – COVID-19 vaccines are optional. – Those who have tested positive with COVID-19 must quarantine. – All teaching instruction will be offered in person only. between, that is the best practice.” Whether the district sends a student home due to a child being sick, or a family chooses to keep them home because they are sick, the absence will be excused, Bergstrom said. Quarantining is mandatory only for students who test positive for COVID-19. Quarantine protocol If a student tests positive for COVID-19, they will be required to quarantine and be symptom free for 24 hours prior to coming back to school. Families are asked to monitor and report positive COVID-19 cases to the school health of ce. Bergstrom said they are mandated to report positive cases within the district. Minnesota’s quarantine guidance is as follows: Fourteen days is recommended by the CDC. Quarantine may be shortened to 10 days without testing; or seven days with a negative test if the test occurred after exposure on day ve or later. Distance learning family choice not available At this time, the district is not offering a distance learning family choice option. Hybrid learning – a combination of in-person and distance learning – will not be offered, either. “It’s taxing on staff; it’s hard for kids,” Bergstrom said. Coursework will be made available to students who are out sick. Teachers will gather it and arrange for it to be picked up or distributed electronically. Mitigating the spread of illness Regular cleaning and sanitizing protocols will continue in all district buildings and transportation vehicles to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and any other contagious illness. “We have purchased a lot of cleaning and disinfecting equipment, and we will continue to use those as a part of our protocols,” Bergstrom said. Deep cleaning will be performed in areas where illness has been con rmed. Tables will be cleaned daily and disinfected often. Teachers will have supplies to disinfect daily if they choose.
Bergstrom said he believes the cleaning and sanitizing regimen that was implemented in response to the pandemic should continue regardless of the status of COVID-19. Ventilation systems will continue to lter air in the school buildings. Good hygiene practices, including hand washing and covering coughs, will be encouraged. Hand sanitizer will be available. The use of drinking fountains will remain suspended. Water bottle lling stations are in several areas of the buildings. The district will continue to use body temperature scanners to check for fever. If a child appears to be sick and exhibits symptoms of any illness, the district will arrange for them to be sent home. Visitors Visitors are allowed only for academic purposes, such as tutoring or student teaching or the foster grandparent program. Lunchroom guests will not be allowed. “We’re not ready to go there yet,” Bergstrom said. Parents and guardians can drop off and pick up their children from school but cannot accompany them into the building. They may go as far as the of ce for check-in and check-out. On-site testing not available Last school year, the district offered free COVID-19 testing on site. Bergstrom is not aware of such a program being available this year but said there are testing sites in the area. Decision-making criteria When making decisions regarding the learning plan this school year, the district will continue to evaluate internal cases and absences. The district will also review COVID-19 case numbers from Benton County Public Health, Stearns County Public Health and Minnesota COVID-19 school statistics. The district will not review COVID-19 data from the Minnesota Department of Education because it is no longer available.
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