From the Superintendent's Desk

August 5, 2021

As I start to write this, I was hoping that this would be the first message to the community in a long time that didn’t have to reference Covid-19. Unfortunately, the virus appears to have other plans, and I’m coming to you with news of the latest recommendations from the state, which you’ve likely heard from the local news.

Covid-19 continues to threaten the health of all Vermonters, especially our youngest who are facing a more-virulent strain (Delta variant) even as they wait for approval of the vaccine for persons 11 and under. This age range, 3-11, makes up a substantial portion of our student population, and the guidelines from the State are evolving to address this concern head-on.

This week, we received a new set of recommendations for school operations that affect our reopening plans at the end of August. These recommendations are a bit more stringent than the ones that were in effect at the end of the school year and during our summer programming. CCSU schools and the Central Office will be following the state of Vermont recommendations, and we will continue to follow them as they evolve over time.

Masks

Here is the specific guidance we will follow (read the guidance memo here):

• To allow school districts time to calculate the percentage of currently eligible students who have received two doses of a two-dose vaccine, schools should require universal masking for all students and staff when indoors for the first 10 instructional days of the school year. Currently, all Vermonters ages 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated.
• Following the first 10 instructional days of the school year, masks should no longer be required for all those eligible for vaccination when the vaccination rate (two doses of a two-dose vaccine) among students is equal to or greater than 80% of the school’s currently eligible population.
• Masks should be required indoors for students younger than 12, who are not eligible to be vaccinated at this time.
• Masks, when required, may be removed when needed for instructional or operational purposes.
• Masks are currently required for all passengers on buses per federal regulation, regardless of age or vaccination status.
• Masks should not be required outdoors.

Social Distancing

The latest guidance does not include a recommendation to maintain social distancing in our classrooms and other school spaces. We ended last school year with a 3-foot rule.

Testing and Vaccination

CCSU will be cooperating with two State initiatives related to Covid-19 prevention. If asked, we will host vaccination clinics for eligible students and adults at our school sites. We will also be participating in the Statewide Covid-19 Surveillance Testing program for staff and students. Both of these initiatives – vaccination and testing – are optional and require caregiver consent for students under the age of 18. No one will be pressured or required to participate.

Implications for School Operations

A distancing restriction would have left us in the same place that we were in at the end of the last school year – unable to offer full in-person instruction in our high schools and some of our middle schools. The mask mandate is a reasonable counteractive to the elimination of a distancing guideline. We will have our staff and students together in “normal” classroom configurations but have some assurance that we are limiting the risk of virus transmission between infected and uninfected persons.

I know that we will be helping the Department of Health with Contact Tracing if we have a positive case in one of our schools. I am waiting for guidance on daily screening. For now, we are asking caregivers to keep their children home if they exhibit symptoms that are common to Covid-19, and we will send students home if they arrive showing symptoms of Covid-19. The same expectations apply to all of our staff.

More to be Done

• This memorandum is step one in outlining our school operations for the fall. We have more work to do, and other initiatives to work out, including:
• Devising a method for monitoring the vaccination rates so we can assess where we are in terms of the 80% threshold;
• Supporting all Health Department requests to host vaccination clinics for adults and eligible students in our schools, at any time and any location requested;
• Participating in the State’s voluntary Surveillance Testing program starting in the fall.

I will be in touch with more information as the recommendations evolve (hopefully in a good direction) and as we work through the details of testing and vaccination opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If these are not mandates, why are you going along with them?

A: In short, science is telling the experts in the State that these are reasonable measures – in light of Vermont’s overall high level of vaccination – to be able to open our schools in August and operate a more normal learning environment. I am not aware of a single public school district that would put themselves in a position of eschewing the guidance of doctors and public health officials state-wide.

Q: What if I don’t want to wear a mask or I don’t want my children to wear a mask?

A: When we start the year, mask wearing will be required for any person entering a school property. If you do not wish to comply with this expectation you and/or your children will not be allowed inside the school building.

Q: What if I do not want to get vaccinated, or I do not wish to have my eligible children vaccinated?

A: We are still in a personal/parental status when it comes to vaccination. At present, there are no requirements related to vaccination.

Q: How will you know if a school has vaccinated 80% of eligible persons?

A: I don’t know – yet. We will let you know when we figure it out.

Q: I don’t want to be tested, or I don’t want my children to be tested, as part of the Covid-19 Surveillance Testing program.

A: That’s fine – the program is voluntary and requires written consent by the responsible caregiver for children under 18. Staff will not be forced to participate, and we will not test minors without written consent.

Q: Are you offering a remote-learning option?

A: No. We are pivoting back to full in-person learning with the current protection recommendations in force. This is a bit technical, but there is no provision in statute or State Board regulation that allows us to offer remote or hybrid learning dispositions of the scale that we did last school year. That authority stemmed from the Governor’s Emergency Order of March 2020 that expired this past June. Our teachers will be focused on providing a full day of instruction, and school day schedules are reverting back to a five-day, full-day model.

Please feel free to email me your questions and concerns. If you do, it is always helpful for me to know which school your child attends. As I am currently on vacation, I will reply when I return on August 16th.

Mark Tucker, M.A.

Superintendent