Important Message from Dr. Cain
March 12, 2020
Good Evening,
We would like to provide you with an update related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the steps the District is taking to ensure our buildings are clean and safe for students and staff. Today we met with leaders from the St. Charles County Department of Public Health and we received direction in a number of areas.
Should we close schools?
No, not at this time. If there is a confirmed case in our county or in our District, we will work together with County Health to determine whether or not to close a school.
Should we cancel large gatherings or events in-District?
For now, the guidance from County Health was to not cancel in-District events. They recommended that we look at each event and consider a number of factors, including the location and the number of vulnerable individuals who may be at the event. County Health does not consider healthy children to be vulnerable to COVID-19. It is the elderly and those with compromised immune systems who are considered vulnerable. We are looking at every scheduled event and making a determination based on that guidance. If an event is canceled, you will be notified by your school. Please note, if/when there is a confirmed case in our County, health officials acknowledge that guidance will change.
Cancellations as of now:
The Missouri Color Guard Association has canceled the remainder of the season.
The Missouri Association of Student Councils has canceled the state conference that was scheduled at Timberland High School March 19-21.
The District has canceled the Liberty High School band trip to Chicago, considering the confirmed cases in that region.
FCCLA has postponed its state conference scheduled at Tan-Tar-A Resort
The DECA State Career Development Conference in Kansas City has been canceled (they are using a virtual platform to determine state winners).
Travel note:
If you are traveling over spring break to an area that is under a Travel Health Notice as defined by the CDC, please contact the St. Charles County Department of Public Health before returning to school or work. You can call (636) 949-1899 or email health@sccmo.org.
Currently, the District is also taking the following actions:
In preparation for a potential extended closure, teachers are developing learning opportunities that are developmentally appropriate for students and connected to the essential learning currently taking place in classrooms. Further communication regarding continued learning plans will be sent if and when that is necessary.
We are closely monitoring student and staff attendance and tracking the symptoms our nurses are seeing in their buildings. We will continue to encourage staff and students to stay home when they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms. Parents, when you call in to report an absence we ask that you be very specific to help us track symptoms as well.
Please also be advised that we have been encouraged by County Health to send students home more readily than we typically would. We ask for your cooperation if a nurse calls you to pick up your student as quickly as possible.
We have stepped up our daily cleaning of surfaces and items that have common touchpoints and we are utilizing additional sanitizers and specialized equipment to disinfect our buildings.
We are bringing in additional staff and deep cleaning our schools in addition to the regular daily cleaning. Each school will be deep cleaned through spring break and we will repeat the deep cleaning process at each school following spring break.
In our cafes:
Managers have been given the option of moving to a paper roster or having the cashiers enter student pin information;
Beginning today, all schools switched to pre-wrapped utensil kits;
All salad bars only have pre-wrapped or bagged items (including whole fruits). There will not be any utensils for self serve.
All condiments are being pre-packaged; we will not have any self-serve pumps or bottles.
We have created a page on the District website that has the latest Novel Coronavirus update from the District as well as links to a variety of resources from the Centers for Disease Control, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, and the St. Charles County Department of Public Health.
As the situation unfolds, we will continue to provide you with updates. We are in frequent contact with the County Department of Public Health and we are making decisions on a case-by-case basis in a very fluid and rapidly changing environment. We appreciate your cooperation and support as we work to keep our students and staff healthy and safe.
Curtis Cain, Ph.D.
Superintendent