DISTRICT UPDATE 7/28/2021
2021-2022 MCS COVID RESPONSE PLAN
OVERVIEW
A LOOK BACK
TESTING
CONTACT TRACING
REPORTING
The Director of Schools will provide a weekly summary report of all known positive cases to all staff. Schools will inform appropriate staff members of positive cases. Parental notification of positive cases will occur when there are identified clusters or upticks of cases in any school. Monitoring of community COVID data will continue to be available on the TN Department of Health Website: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/county-data-snapshot.html
OTHER PLAN DETAILS
Face Covering, Temp Checks, Health Monitoring – Regardless of vaccination status, the district will have no mandate regarding face covering, PPE, Temp Checks, or Health Monitoring at the opening of the new academic year. However, the district will continue to be a responsive district and monitor both community and internal district data to advise additional actions. As always, students and staff are welcome to wear face coverings, especially when social distancing is not possible.
COVID Symptomatic Student – If the school clinic identifies a preponderance of COVID symptoms, the nurse will make a call to the parent(s) and offer a COVID test. Permission for COVID testing/Authorization to Release form may be provided through email or with a signature on the form. Parents may choose to be present for the testing when/if they pick up the student from the clinic.
- For those untested, provide the student a 10-day COVID Symptom isolation letter.
- For those tested, inform the student he/she must remain at home pending test results. Provide the parent a copy of the Permission/Authorization to Release Form.
Positive COVID Identification Results. The schools may receive positive notification through their own testing systems or from outside agencies. The school clinic will follow the 10-day isolation protocol from the onset of symptoms or from test date if asymptomatic. The school clinic will ask positive students to identify household/critical contacts (siblings, parents, high-risk social contacts of prolonged engagement such as sleep-over friends) who attend or work in the school district. The school district will rely on families, health care agencies, and the health department to identify all additional close contacts. Schools will enforce isolations of known positive cases.
Identified Close Contacts. The schools may receive close contact notification through their own critical tracing as described above or through outside reporting. For parental reporting, verification may be requested. The schools will follow the same protocol for 10-day quarantine as in 2020-21 with the following revisions: provision for vaccinated students to be exempt from close contact quarantines and provision for asymptomatic students who have been diagnosed with COVID within 90 days to be exempt from close contact quarantines. Schools will enforce quarantines of known close contact cases. In addition, schools will verify all close contact quarantines with the Health Department to determine the level of excused or unexcused absences.
Optional COVID Testing: All in-school COVID testing will be prompted by nursing staff in the school clinics and will accompany a preponderance of symptoms. Parents may not request random testing. Asymptomatic students who are on a close contact quarantine and want to reduce the length of the quarantine through testing may request an appointment with the school nurse in the school clinic. Testing is an optional service, and school employees will not pressure or encourage anyone to be tested.
Instructional Provision for Positive COVID and Quarantined Students: Under almost all circumstances of quarantined students (isolated incidences or small numbers impacted), the school system will not provide digital instruction for positive COVID students or close contact quarantined students. Teachers will apply the school’s sick and make-up work policy as with any other illness and provide a variety of support structures that could include digital components. Students will be granted an automatic excused absence with proper documentation for all quarantines. Full digital delivery would only occur in unusual or extenuating circumstances.
STAGGERED START
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL REMINDER
Students will return to school on the following staggered schedule:
- August 3 - Students whose last name starts with A - K
- August 4 - Students whose last name starts with L - Z
MCS COMMUNICATIONS
Email: MCS@maryville-schools.org
Website: www.maryville-schools.org
Location: 833 Lawrence Avenue, Maryville, TN, USA
Phone: (865) 982-7121