OCTOBER 30, 2020
FPS Family Newsletter | 20-21 Issue 16
HALLOWEEN & COVID-19 CONCERNS
Happy Halloween! I hope you are finding fun and COVID-safe ways to celebrate. With that thought in mind, I, unfortunately, need to share that the number of positive COVID-19 cases impacting our school district is on the rise. This is particularly true at the high school.
When doing contact tracing, we are learning that our high school students are together in cars without masks and participating in planned gatherings outside the school day. This has not only spread COVID-19, it has caused a larger number of students to be quarantined. We continue to have the goal of keeping schools open and using our metrics to make any closure decisions. The high school 14-day positive case rate is still in the “green” but is moving quickly to yellow. Red will cause a closure of the school.
Please convey to your child the seriousness that gathering with friends can cause with the potential spread of COVID-19. Their actions directly contribute to schools staying open and allowing us to continue with our athletics and activities. We sincerely appreciate the support the majority of our families have provided, particularly with their child being quarantined. Our staff and the Health Department carefully follow criteria for who should be quarantined and their decisions are final.
I share with you below some recent releases in southeast Wisconsin that I ask that you read. Be aware that Health Departments are having to adapt and change procedures because of the increase in numbers. These changes have the potential of impacting our knowledge of COVID-19 cases that could affect our schools. All of the organizations represented are sharing with our families and the community the need to work together to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Please click to view larger versions.
As we head into the Halloween weekend, please consider how we can all do our best to stay safe. Our partners at the Franklin Health Department have provided some alternative ideas for celebrating Halloween further down in this newsletter and I ask that you and your families please consider some of these suggestions instead of group gatherings.
Have a safe and Happy Halloween,
Dr. Judy Mueller
District Administrator
REMINDER: PAWS DAY IS WED, NOVEMBER 4th
REMINDER: PAWS DAY WED, NOV 4th - NO FOOD SERVICE
Due to Wednesday, November 4th being a non-instructional PAWS Day, there will be no food service offered that day for in-person or virtual families.
MONITORING & TRANSITION DASHBOARD
We continue to update our COVID-19 Monitor & Transition Dashboard weekly on Fridays as we ready our Friday newsletter for parents and families. Below is a screenshot of this week's update. You can click or tap on the screenshot to see a larger version on your device.
UPDATE: This week we made a slight visual change to our Monitor & Transition Board. We have combined the "% of Cases Not Contact Traced Within 36-hours" into one line item since contact tracing is done by a district team (and has been all along) and there is no need to show it broken down by school. It is also important to note that some contact tracing has started to take longer than 36 hours because of the number of cases we are seeing.
If you are looking for more details around this data, please view our Monitor & Transition Plan
UPCOMING DISTRICT DATES
As a reminder, the District Calendar and all building calendars can be found here.
All of our calendars are able to be subscribed to! Follow the steps at the top of the District Calendar for how to subscribe.
CONTACT TRACING
In regards to contact tracing, we want to share details around the time that unfolds. We are aware that the length of the timeline from exposure to notification can be lengthier in certain situations and there are a variety of reasons why that may be.
Here is some more information about the timeline we are working with.
When looking at close contacts in relation to cases of COVID-19, we evaluate the 2 days prior to someone showing symptoms of illness.
Following symptoms appearing, that person is tested, then we, as a district nursing team, need to wait for test results to come in. Test results coming back may vary from a few hours to a few days to close to a week depending on the testing facility.
Once we are notified of a positive case, we complete a process laid out by state and local public health officials in collaboration with the school staff and the Franklin Health Department to identify any students and staff who were in close contact with that individual.
A very typical situation is that a student was in attendance all last week but started having symptoms on Saturday. The student got tested on Monday but those test results didn't come back until Wednesday at which point our nursing team would be notified. Once notified, we look back to exposure occurring with other students last Thurs and Friday (2 days prior to the student's symptoms). The communication that would go out as soon as possible would be for exposure last Thurs and Friday -- almost a week ago. Those notified of being a close contact are supposed to be quarantined for 14-days from the exposure so those students exposed last Thurs or Friday would be quarantined until next Thurs or Fri at this point and allowed to return to school after the 14-day quarantine is complete.
We work as quickly as we can as soon as we receive information about a confirmed case. One of the metrics we follow on our dashboard relates to the "% of Cases Not Contact Traced Within 36-Hours." If that number starts to climb, that is an indication that we are seeing more cases at once that need time to be vetted.
KIDS CLUB FULL & HALF DAY PROGRAMS
In an effort to keep children in class and Kids Club up and running before and after school, we have made the decision to cancel the Kids Club Full Day programs for the 2020/2021 school year. By doing so we will limit exposure for both children and staff from different schools to be in one area for a long period of time.
We will offer the Half Day programs on November 25 and June 10, provided we have 15 children at each school. We will not be able to combine schools this year as we have done in the past to meet our minimum. Please register at your Kids Club site before the registration deadlines listed on the Kids Club website.
HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-TREATING RESOURCES!
Our friends at the Franklin Health Department have shared these Trick-Or-Treat Safety Tips and suggestions below for all families whether you plan to venture out or if you're looking for alternative fun activities. There's also a sign included that you can click on and print off and put on your door if you choose not to participate in Trick-or-Treating this year. No matter what you choose to do, please do so safely!
Click on any of the images below to be taken to a PDF where you can print these off or use as needed.
Franklin Public Schools
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Email: communications@franklin.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.franklin.k12.wi.us
Location: 8255 West Forest Hill Avenue, Franklin, WI, USA
Phone: 414-529-8220
Facebook: facebook.com/franklinpublicschools
Twitter: @fpsdistrictwi