Hearst Family Update
January 9, 2022
Principal's Message
Happy Sunday, Owls!
I hope that you've found some time to rest and recharge this weekend after a whirlwind of a week last week. This week looks to be similar in the sense that there are freezing temperatures predicted for tonight which may lead to icy conditions for arrival tomorrow and we've also had new student and staff cases reported over the weekend. Official notification of these cases will come from DCPS at some point tomorrow in all likelihood and know that close contacts have been notified.
Additionally, please know that if your child did not come to school on Thursday of last week, they will need to provide proof of a negative antigen test before returning to school tomorrow or any time this week.
Thank you for your flexibility and support and please reach out with any questions,
Jen
About Us
Email: attendance@hearstes.org
Website: www.hearstes.org
Location: 3950 37th Street Northwest, Washington, DC, United States
Phone: (202) 282-0106
Facebook: facebook.com/hearstes
Twitter: @hearstes
News and Announcements from Hearst
Upcoming Key Dates
- January 17 - MLK Holiday, no school for all
Quick Updates
- A reminder that IF there is a 2-hour delay tomorrow, school starts for students at 10:45, with arrival to the playground beginning at 10:30.
FAQs From Families
Q: Is it true that students can't return until 10 days after their most recent positive COVID test, even if it's a rapid antigen test (rather than going off their first positive test)? That would seem to disincentivize families from checking their student's infectiousness by using a rapid antigen test. Could you clarify the current procedures?
A: Here is the response I received from DCPS regarding cases where kids tested positive, quarantined for 10 days and tested positive again using a rapid test after their initial quarantine period was over:
"DC Health’s Chief of Epidemiology has provided the following guidance on the use of the antigen test: Antigen test identifies a protein and thus is very specific if someone is positive (lock and key interaction). Individuals will test negative as soon as the virus is inactive because the protein structure collapses and the interaction does not occur. This is different from the PCR test, which identifies a viral genetic (RNA) material that can shed for 90 days and thus we discourage testing after infection. As such, during our TTR (Test to Return) program, any student with a positive antigen test is considered COVID positive and thus is required to isolate for ten days in alignment with DC Health’s guidance.
Having said that, your case is unique in that your student had just completed an isolation due to a COVID infection. We are asking DC Health to review to determine if the quarantine period can be adjusted. We hope to have a response by Monday and will follow up with you as soon as we do.Thanks again for your patience and support as we continue to work to make the best educational decisions during the pandemic."
Q: Given the more contagious nature of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, we understand that DCPS has taken steps to provide teachers with KN95 masks, which is wonderful. We have a few related questions:
1. Does DCPS have any plans for distributing KN95 or KN94 masks to students as well?
A: I am not aware of any DCPS plan to distribute KN94 or 95 masks to students at this time.
2. Pending provision of high filtration masks to students, does DCPS or Hearst have any updated guidance for students related to mask usage to minimize spread of the virus in classrooms (i.e. double masking with a cloth and surgical, if not wearing a higher quality mask)?
A: DCPS does not have any updated guidance for students related to mask usage. We continue to have kid-sized surgical masks available for all students at school who want or need them.
3. Have you heard anything about how often/how many masks will be distributed; will they be replenished?
A: We receive regular shipments of surgical masks for kids and adults. I do not know when KN-95s will be replenished by DCPS but at this time we have more than enough for all staff to use.
4. Do you have any advice in terms of any role for parents to help ensure continued availability of masks for students and staff, either advocacy or providing masks directly?
If you'd like to provide masks to the school, we're happy to distribute them to students and staff who want to use them. In terms of advocacy, please reach out to Drs. Lewis Ferebee, Melissa Kim, Amy Maisterra, and Brenda Elliott in DCPS as well as OSSE, The Deputy Mayor for Education, the Mayor, and anyone else you deem fit. Thanks!
Reminder: Asymptomatic Student Testing on Wednesdays
Starting the week of 11/8, our asymptomatic testing time will move to 9:45am on Wednesday. During a typical week, we will pull test a random sample of approximately 25% of students who have not opted out of testing. Knowing that some students in this group will not be able to produce a sample or their saliva sample will be rejected, this will allow us to ensure we are hitting the goal of testing 20% of our students each week. Know that we will attempt to test at least one student from each homeroom each week. Here are a few things to know about asymptomatic testing :
- Teachers will be provided with names of students to be tested and those students will be escorted by staff to our testing location.
- Because the test is a saliva test, students identified for testing cannot eat, drink, chew gum, or have on chapstick an hour before their testing window.
Families of kids who are tested will receive notification that their child was tested and information on how to access the online portal where they will be able to view results. Your child may indicate that they were pulled for testing but they were not given a letter with online portal log in information. If this is the case, this means that your child did not produce enough saliva to fill the test tube. Please reach out to Ms. Johnson (kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov) with any questions and/or if you would like to opt your child out of asymptomatic testing. If you wish to opt-out your student from receiving any COVID-19 test at school, you must complete the available at osse.dc.gov/page/school-based-covid-19-testing and email it to the school at kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov.
The website to access results is: https://shieldt3k12.pointnclick.com/ and our Agency Code is: HearstES and the website . As a parent, you should be able to enable notifications be sent to you if a testing result is available for your child.
We believe that the email you use to register on site has to be the primary contact's email used to enroll your child. You will also have to wait at least 12 hours until after the student was tested for the agency code to work.
News and Announcements from DCPS
News and Announcements From Other Organizations
Reminder: Next W3EdNet Meeting on Mon, Jan 10 at 7pm -- Council Member Christina Henderson
The next meeting of the Ward 3 Education Network (W3EdNet) is on Monday, January 10 at 7pm via Zoom (link below).
We are very happy to host At-Large Council Member Christina Henderson, who will share her vision for education in the city and take questions
Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Upcoming meetings:
- Monday, February 7 at 7pm, Topic/Guest TBD
- Monday, March 7 at 7pm, Topic/Guest TBD
- Monday, April 4 at 7pm, Topic/Guest TBD
- Monday, May 9 at 7pm, Topic/Guest TBD
- Monday, June 6 at 7pm, Topic/Guest TBD
We look forward to seeing you there.
Melody, Karin, and Brian