KCSD & Me: Welcome back

En español

In this newsletter, you will find information about:

• Is my child is too sick to go to school?
• What happens if there is a positive case?

• Face coverings: Recommendations and expectations
• Updated Grab and Go Meal Program information

• A review of schooling options: What if I don’t want my child to return to the classroom?

We are excited to reopen our schools to students this week!

It has been more than 300 days since the pandemic closed our doors last spring and forced students into distance learning. In our suburban and larger schools, COVID-19 metrics kept our 4th-12th graders out of school buildings for all but two of those 300 days.

Most students are now attending in-person instruction under our hybrid models -- two days in classrooms, three days distance learning. Students in some of our small, rural school are able to attend four days a week.

We will continue to closely follow recommendations from Klamath County Public Health and all safety and health protocols in the Oregon Department of Education's Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance.

However, we still need your help to keep our classrooms open for students. Please wear face coverings during drop off and pick up, maintain social distancing and limit gatherings, and keep your children home when they are ill.

Thank you!!

As our schools prepare to open to more students, please continue to follow the guidelines to help all students stay healthy and ready to learn. Click here: Is my child too sick for school?

Please do not send an ill student to school. If your student is ill, please contact your student’s school office.

Contact your health care provider about any serious illness or if you are worried about your student’s health. If you need help in finding a health care provider, contact Klamath County Public Health at 541-882-8846.

Our schools have implemented strict protocols that follow all state Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance. These include sanitation procedures and a quick response, including contact tracing, to any positive case within a cohort (small, stable group). Students are grouped into small, stable cohorts, and required to wear face coverings, wash their hands, and maintain physical distancing.

However, with the spread of COVID-19 in our community, schools may have students who test positive. We have specific measures in place to prevent spread and protect students and staff if this happens. We also protect the privacy of our students and staff and will not release specific information about a positive case. Here's what to expect if a student is confirmed positive for COVID-19:

1. Families of students in the positive student's cohort are informed by the district nurse or staff.
2. Affected cohorts are quarantined and those students will do distance learning from home.
3. Affected families also will receive a letter informing them they have been in close contact with a positive case.
4. Schools will do a One Call notification to all families informing them of a positive case within their school. Families do NOT have to quarantine unless contacted by the school or public health and told to do so.
5. All cohort and school closures are posted on the KCSD webpage: School and cohort closures.

If a student appears unwell, school staff will do a visual health screening to determine whether the student is too sick to remain in class. If the screening indicates the student may be unwell, he or she will receive a full health screening from a school nurse to determine whether isolation is needed. A parent or guardian will be called to come get the student.

Parents are encouraged to do their own visual health screenings at home before their child heads to class. Follow the link for information on how to do a visual screening: How to do a Visual Health Screening.

Face coverings are required for students who attend school. Schools will provide disposable masks for students who need them, however, KCSD strongly encourages students to wear their own face coverings to school when possible.

Students who choose their own face coverings are wearing them more consistently. They also can be washed and reused, unlike disposable masks. So far this school year, the district has provided more than 140,000 disposable face masks to students.

Students need to wear face coverings both indoors and outdoors, including during outdoor recess.

Appropriate face coverings include:

• Cloth and disposable masks. The student’s mask should cover both the nose and mouth.

• Neck gators. These need to cover both the nose and mouth.

• Face shields. Face shields are an acceptable alternative in certain situations, including when a person has a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask. See Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidelines for more details: http://www.kcsd.k12.or.us/files/RSSL_Face_Coverings.pdf.
  

Click here for information about wearing face coverings: http://www.kcsd.k12.or.us/files/Face_Covering_Facts.pdf.

We will continue our free Grab-and-Go Meal Program, but now that our schools are open to in-person instruction meals will no longer be delivered by bus routes and our schedule will be similar to September. Families who are not going to school in person may pick five breakfasts and five lunches on Fridays at school sites. We will not be offering Grab-and-Go meals on Friday, Jan. 22. Students who are attending in a hybrid model will pick up meals on their second day of in-person classes. Follow the below link for details:

We provided families with three schooling options at the beginning of the school year -- hybrid/in-person; KCSD Online, and Great Basin Homeschool Center. The hybrid plan was for families who wanted their students to return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. If you need to change your option, please contact your school.

A review of KCSD schooling options:

• In School/Hybrid Plan: Students are in the classroom with their teacher two days a week. Three days a week they participate in high-quality distance learning.

• KCSD Online: This model is a 100% online program where students complete all instruction and coursework at home with the support of KCSD teachers.

• Great Basin Homeschool Center: The district’s Great Basin Homeschool Center provides a traditional homeschool experience for K-6 and a virtual, online program with certified teachers for 7-12.

Please check our webpage at www.kcsd.k12.or.us for updates and any information about school and cohort closures.