The start of the 2021-2022 school year last Wednesday kicked off an exciting week was full of activity and events in our schools. Our building principals reported smooth starts to the school year and they are working to iron out some of the typical start-of-year issues that arise. Teachers and principals also reported some wonderful moments with students as they began the school year. Thank you to all of our parents for supporting our teachers and staff.
A welcome-back at Collins Elementary
We will post daily updates that are school specific including the number of any students and staff that test positive for the COVID-19 virus and the number that are quarantined for close contact (exposure) with a positive case on our school district website. The overall total for the week was 53 positive cases for students and 7 positive cases for staff; 86 students and 1 staff member were quarantined. For reference, we have approximately 21,000 students enrolled in our schools and approximately 4,000 employees.
As a reminder, each of our schools and buildings employ layered mitigation strategies to ensure that our students and employees stay healthy and to minimize any spread of the virus at school. These strategies include:
• Providing voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible staff and students.
• Providing voluntary as-needed COVID-19 testing to staff and students.
• Ensuring staff and students stay home if they have a fever and/or symptoms of COVID-19, including: Fever or feeling feverish (e.g., chills, sweating), New cough, Difficulty breathing, Sore throat, Muscle or body aches, Vomiting or diarrhea, New loss of taste or smell.
Rolling out the red carpet at Stephens Elementary.
• Physical distancing as much as is practical in school buildings and on buses.
• Wearing a face mask inside of district schools and building.
• Regular handwashing and covering your cough or sneeze.
• Contact tracing and quarantining close contacts for positive cases.
• Regular cleaning and disinfecting buildings, especially high touch or high traffic areas.
Our priority is to provide daily, in-person instruction to our students throughout this entire school year. We also want to ensure that our students can participate and enjoy the many in-person school and athletic activities that are offered. To accomplish this priority, we need everyone’s assistance and participation in the COVID-19 mitigations strategies above.
A welcoming start at New Haven Elementary
Unfortunately, several school districts across Kentucky have been forced to close recently due to high numbers of positive cases and quarantines. We know from experience that we can keep ourselves and each other safe and keep our schools open if we all follow these protocols together.
The Boone County Schools are following the KY Administrative Regulation (702 KAR 1:195E) passed by the KY Board of Education requiring the wearing of face masks in school facilities. Governor Beshear has rescinded his executive order following the KY State Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the grant of injunctions in Scott County and Franklin County for Senate Bill 1/House Bill 1 and HR 77. We are monitoring the situation closely due to the volume of legal activity.
Happy to be back at Camp Ernst Middle School
After visiting many schools over the last few weeks, I want to compliment and praise our staff and teachers. They care deeply for their students and colleagues and they work extremely hard for the benefit of all our children.
A question educator Rick DuFour posed years ago is very relevant for our teachers, our staff, and everyone. “When students think of kindness, compassion, patience, integrity, … Do they think of you?”
This question is important as it addresses how students learn by watching the adults in their lives and the power of setting the example for children with our own actions.
Let’s continue making the time our children spend in school a great experience.
