BULLDOG BRIEF
PERSONALIZED. INNOVATIVE. GLOBAL.
Isolation, Quarantine and Contact Tracing
To determine who has been in close contact with students/staff who contract COVID-19 and as a result who should quarantine, the district will work with the local health departments to do contact tracing. It is really important for those who test positive or who show symptoms and have been exposed to isolate for 10 days and until their symptoms have improved, but it is equally as important for them to accurately inform the district and the health department who they were in close contact (less than 6 feet more than 15 minutes) with two days prior to the positive test or when symptoms start. This district will work with students, teachers, and staff to determine close contacts for students while at school along with the student/parents to determine outside of school close contacts. The process of contact tracing takes a lot of time and is dependent upon the information given by teachers, parents, and those who test positive for COVID-19. The district or health department will contact all close contacts and those individuals are expected to quarantine for 14 days from the last know exposure date. As a reminder, a negative test result for those considered a close contact (less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) still requires a 14-day quarantine if the close contact happened within 2 days of the positive COVID-19 individual's test.
For the district to be able to help slow down the spread of COVID-19 and to keep students and staff safe, we will need all individuals asked to isolate or quarantine to do so with fidelity. It is the only way for us to minimize the chances of community spread. With that said, just because someone lives in the same house as an individual who contracts COVID-19 doesn't mean they have been exposed. Exposure is dependent upon close contact and it is very possible for individuals in the same household to maintain distance from each other. As we do our contact tracing, know that we will do our best to ensure all who should quarantine are asked to do so, but we can only act upon the information we have been given. All of this information is confidential to the individuals and families involved, but we will continue to be as transparent as possible when informing the community about COVID-19.
Process for Evaluating Sick Students and Staff
Active COVID-19 Cases Week of August 10
Return to Learn Plan- 8/14/20 Update
We are planning on all students starting school on Monday, August 24. We will dismiss students who choose to attend on-site at 1:30 p.m. the entire first week of schools so we have some time at the end of the day to assess our mitigation strategies and determine if we need to make any adjustments for the week of August 24. With all of our close to 1000 students being in one building, it presents different challenges that other districts might not face. A few things to note as of 8/14/20:
- We are now planning on starting back in an on-site learning environment on Monday, August 24 with 1:30 dismissal time for students. Building principals will be providing more information for bus and parent pickup procedures and times.
- We will have a quality remote/online option available for families who choose not to attend (contact Mr. Tibbetts or Mr. Lamoureux for more information.)
- HS Students in grades 10-12 may have more flexible schedules than students in grades PK-9. Contact the building principals with questions on daily student schedules.
adam.lamoureux@vmbulldogs.com for Secondary Questions
cody.tibbetts@vmbulldogs.com for Elementary Questions
- Efforts will be made to limit large gatherings by varied groups of students and we will do all we can to keep kids physically distanced.
- We will have staggered arrival and dismissal times. Students will report to their homeroom upon arrival.
- Students will complete a symptom/contact tracing form each morning.
- K-8 Students can arrive at 7:55 a.m. and school will start at 8:15 a.m. and end between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. or corresponding times with early dismissals.
- 9-12 students can arrive at 8:20 a.m. and school will start at 8:40 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m. or earlier depending on the individual student's schedule.
- Older students who ride the bus can report to their 1st-period class/mentor prior to 8:20 a.m. if needed.
- We are encouraging parents to bring their children to school so we can limit the number of students riding the buses.
- We are not planning on having town bus routes for students who live less than two miles from the school building. Some exceptions will be made for younger children, Crestview residents because of F-90, and other unique circumstances, but we will limit the number of students on the bus and strongly encourage parents to bring students to school if at all possible.
- David Johnson will reach out to everyone who needs to ride the bus with the exact pickup and drop off times and locations. More information about bussing can be found in the next article.
- Students will be expected to wear a mask (except for certain situations) while riding on school buses to protect each other as well as our bus drivers.
- At this time, we will not require students to wear masks in the building, but we encourage and support the wearing of masks. There WILL be times during the day that we need students to wear masks when physical distancing isn't possible, so all students will be expected to have a mask with them each day. Many students will wear masks more times during the day than they don't.
- We will require staff to wear masks/face shields when around others.
- We are planning on lunch being sacked individually and eaten in classrooms or outside. Students should not share lunch items.
- Students will be with the same cohort of students for the school day and they will be in pods within those cohorts of students to limit exposure as much as possible to COVID-19.
- We will follow CDC, IDPH, and Dallas County Department of Health guidelines when a positive COVID-19 case occurs.
- We will have positive cases in our building. Our goal is to limit the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible while doing all we can to maintain a quality learning environment.
- If a student/staff member is in close contact (less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes, direct physical contact, or they sneezed or coughed on you) to someone with a confirmed COVID-19 case students/staff will need to quarantine for 14 days.
- Dallas County Department of Health and the Van Meter CSD will do contact tracing to determine who was in close contact. Only those in close contact will need to quarantine for 14 days, but others could choose to if they believed they were exposed.
- To limit potential exposure, visitors will not be allowed into the building in most cases unless special arrangements have been made.
The linked document is the conceptual draft of our three plans as they stand today. This document should give parents and students a good idea of what we expect the school day to look like at the start of the year with each potential plan. We have worked with our teachers, student leadership team, and the School Improvement Advisory Committee comprised of parents, teachers, staff, and students to put these plans together. The school board approved our plans at our July School Board Meeting.
Expect more communication from school staff with more information soon.
Again, these plans are fluid and could change rather quickly. We will do our best to follow the guidelines of the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Dallas County Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Please email me at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com if you have any questions.
School Arrival/Dismissal/Transportation Plans- New Information
Transportation Director, David Johnson has contacted families who require bus transportation with more information, but in general, here is what you can expect:
- Seating will be limited to one child (or family) per seat.
- Everyone is required to wear a mask while on the bus.
- We will pick up rural students and drop them off at the school first. Pick up times have been emailed by David Johnson. If you still don't know your pickup time, email David at david.johnson@vmbulldogs.com
- Busses will then pick up Crestview and Daycare students at 8:00 a.m. and drop them off at the school.
- Parents can start dropping kids off at 7:55 a.m. Use the elementary side only for drop off.
- At 3:05 p.m., students who walk home from school will be dismissed.
- At approximately 3:10 p.m., Daycare student bus riders will be dismissed from school and taken to the daycare.
- At approximately, 3:15 p.m. Crestview student bus riders will be dismissed and taken to Crestview
- At approximately, 3:20 p.m. rural student bus riders will be dismissed and taken to their homes
- At 3:30, students who are getting picked up by parents will be dismissed. Mr. Tibbetts will provide more specific information on what pickup and drop off will look like. Parents should not arrive prior to 3:20 p.m. to pick their child up from school. Please know that pick up after school will take longer than previous years. Be patient.
- Any early dismissal will be adjusted to the corresponding times. i.e. 1:05 pm instead of 3:05 pm, etc.
Return to Learn FAQ and IDPH Guidelines
Reminders from Nurse Katie
--No controlled substances (9.e. ADD/ADHD medication) will be accepted when brought to school by anyone other than a parent/guardian.
--We will not administer any essential oils, CBD oils, or other non-FDA approved/regulated therapies to students at school.
--If your student requires an inhaler for asthma to be carried with them during the school day, please complete the form located on our website (vmbulldogs.com) under "Parents & Families" and "Documents & Forms". Please return the form to Nurse Katie.
--The school has a stock supply of acetaminophen/ibuprofen that will be administered sparingly, as it can mask symptoms of COVID-19 and other contagious illnesses, and solely at the discretion of the school nurse. After 10 health office visits resulting in stock medication administration, a physician note will be required and a home supply of medication must be sent to school for future doses.
--ALL medication, prescription, and non-prescription MUST go through Nurse Katie in the health office. Students are prohibited from carrying their own medication during the school day
Mental Health Support
We know and understand that these are challenging times. Everyone's lives have been altered and it is challenging for all of us. If what is being asked of students is requiring too much time, let us know and we will find ways to provide more support or make adjustments to what we are asking kids to do. We just really want to put them in the best position to be successful academically, but we ultimately want to make sure our students are healthy.
Please reach out if your kids are struggling mentally. We have a great team of counselors and they would be glad to provide support if needed.
Jayci Kuhns- Social Worker, jayci.kuhns@vmbulldogs.com
Sara Cook- Elem. Counselor, sara.cook@vmbulldogs.com
Melanie Hopkins- Sec. Counselor, melanie.hopkins@vmbulldogs.com
Athletic Website and Schedules
Contact Us
Email: firstname.lastname@vmbulldogs.com
Website: www.vmbulldogs.com
Location: 520 1st Avenue, Van Meter, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 996-2221
Facebook: https://facebook.com/VanMeterSchools/
Twitter: @vanmeterschools