Wachusett News
Update from Superintendent Darryll McCall May 7
Annual Town Meetings Begin on Saturday, May 15th
Each spring, annual town meetings are held in our five towns to make decisions concerning the upcoming fiscal year, including the proposed WRSD FY22 Budget. This is a great opportunity for community members to participate in the democratic process, a tradition that has been taking place in our towns for hundreds of years. Please note that the Rutland Town Meeting has been moved to June 12th. The annual town meeting dates for 2021 are as follows:
Holden - Monday, May 17 at 7:00pm - WRHS Auditorium
Paxton - Monday, June 21 at 6:00pm - Tivnan Field
Princeton - Saturday, May 15 at 10:00am - Thomas Prince Field
Rutland - Saturday, June 12 at 6:00pm - WRHS Auditorium
Sterling - Monday, June 14 at 5:30pm - Sterling Airport
Just a reminder that this coming week, the District will hold Professional Development for staff on Monday, May 10th and there will be no school on Monday for students. Wednesday will remain a half day for students.
Pooled Testing Expanded
This week, WRSD continued the rollout of pooled testing at schools throughout the District. We have had the opportunity to work closely with our outside vendor to coordinate the process at each school, providing support, materials and oversight. Pooled testing allows us to test all members of our school population far more efficiently than individual testing, providing results within only 24-48 hours. If a pool tests positive for COVID-19, we retest each person individually to find the positive case(s) and alert the parents of students or faculty/staff members. We have trained staff to administer pooled testing using shallow, painless nasal swabbing.
In accordance with CDC guidance, we are offering voluntary, free, safe, painless COVID-19 testing to all students and staff at our schools. Testing helps us to quickly identify and suppress potential outbreaks, allowing us to reopen our schools more safely. As part of this process, we are working with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) and their vendors, including courier services, staffing agencies, and technical support for the tracking of testing results.
If you have questions regarding the COVID-19 Pooled Testing Program, please email PooledTesting@wrsd.net
Important Updates to Quarantine Guidelines
DESE has updated the quarantine guidelines for close contacts, and these changes are now reflected in our district Quarantine Guidelines (see the link below).
The following excerpt is a change from prior contact tracing guidelines: “Close contacts who were exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual in the classroom or on the bus while both individuals were masked do not have to quarantine unless they were within 3 feet of distance of the COVID-19 positive individual for a total of 15 minutes during a 24-hour period. This does not apply if someone was identified as a close contact outside of the classroom or bus (e.g., in sports, extra-curriculars, lunch, etc.) or if masks are not worn by both persons at the time of the exposure. All other close contacts must follow the standard protocol for when a close contact may return to school.”
Additionally, according to the CDC, people who are fully vaccinated (fully vaccinated is defined by the CDC as occurring 14 days after the 2nd vaccination for two dose COVID-19 vaccinations, or 14 days after the single dose COVID-19 vaccination) “no longer need to be restricted from work following an exposure as long as they are asymptomatic.” This change is now reflected in the District’s contact tracing procedures, and it is expected to decrease the number of faculty and staff members who are required to quarantine after a COVID-19 exposure in the district as compared to prior months during the pandemic.
Links:
WRSD COVID Update
Substitute Support for our Schools
WRSD Human Resources - 508-829-1670 x228
The Wachusett Regional School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, English Language Learner (ELL) status, housing status, or other protected status. Please read our full Non-Discrimination Policy for more details.
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WRSD Website
Wachusett Regional School District
Email: feedback@wrsd.net
Website: www.wrsd.net
Location: 1754 Main Street, Jefferson, MA, USA
Phone: (508)829-1670