Dear MPCSD Families,
Due to the Governor’s announcement today that the Stay@Home Order covering the state has been lifted and in light of a slight increase in COVID cases district-wide, I am writing to provide an update on the situation in MPCSD with COVID-19 and our pandemic response. I hope to answer some questions, ease some worries, and reiterate our procedures.
What You Can Do (If you read nothing else in this email, read this…)
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Complete the ParentSquare Health Screener honestly each morning when your child is attending in-person instruction.
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Ensure proper mask fit and filtration for your child. Some have asked if they should increase their mask quality in light of the new strains. The answer is...it can’t hurt. You should look for multi-ply masks that fit snugly over your child’s nose and mouth. Surgical masks are affordable and easy to find; they come in kids sizes or you can tie the loops of an adult mask to make them tight enough for your child. There are many masks made especially for children. This article offers many suggestions. Amazon has tons of options for kids surgical masks. KN95 and N95 masks offer the highest level of protection, but may not be necessary or comfortable for all children to wear. Our school offices have extra masks in case your child breaks or loses their masks at school. If you have trouble finding or affording masks for your child, please reach out to your school counselor.
- Keep your child home if anyone in your home has any flu-like symptoms; please err on the side of caution.
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Test your family for COVID-19 at least every two weeks. Remember that you can always walk up to the Menlo Park Curative site, even if you don’t have an appointment. This is a great resource for our families. Additional resources, including testing for kids at local RiteAid stores, are listed on our FAQ.
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Don’t travel or participate in high risk activities. If you must, then please quarantine. More on this below...
Stay@Home Order Rescinded
While San Mateo County remains in the highest tier of pandemic response (purple) due to Adjusted Case Rates and Positivity Rates, the projected ICU capacity throughout the state is expected to reach above 15% availability within the next four-weeks causing the Governor to lift the Stay@Home Orders. Please consult the San Mateo County Health Department and local media to determine which actions are restricted and which are not. MPCSD has consulted with SMC authorities who have confirmed for us that the county reverts back to the guidance described in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The most important impact to schools as a result of the lifting of the Stay@Home order is in regards to travel. I almost hate to acknowledge that travel restrictions have loosened because I don’t want to give the false impression that travel is somehow more safe now. It is not. The difference now is that the state feels that ICU capacity is not in jeopardy as it once was. If a family chooses to travel, it is still recommended that all individuals quarantine for 10 days prior to returning to school or work. While the District cannot mandate such a quarantine, efforts to minimize travel and quarantine if you do are greatly appreciated.
Gathering guidelines while under the purple tier continue to prohibit indoor gathering and limit outdoor gatherings to three different households. Please continue to wear masks and socially distance if gathering outdoors.
Recent Increase in Cases
We have had more individuals (staff and students) reporting positive COVID tests since we returned from Winter Break. This was anticipated given the increase in cases among the general population. The good news is that we still have no confirmed spread of the virus on any of our campuses.
We work closely with the SMC monitoring cases on a daily basis. Our schools remain well below the 5% positivity rate “trigger” for closing any of our sites, as defined by the County’s Pandemic Recovery Framework and affirmed by the MPCSD School Board. In the Hybrid model, we strive to have no on-campus spread, however it has always been a potential risk, one that Hybrid families opted to take. If you are now uncomfortable with that risk, you can express interest in switching into the Virtual Academy in early February as we begin planning for the third trimester of the school year. Look for a form from the district on February 9 to request entry into the Virtual Academy, if you so desire (and there is space available).
As I discussed with the Board at our January 7 meeting, should we begin approaching the 5% positivity trigger or see confirmed spread within our schools within more than one cohort, I will close schools down for a quarantine period. We have your children’s and our staff’s safety at the forefront of our minds every day.
When There is a Case at School
Our practice continues to be that all staff and parents will be notified within 24 hours of a case at their school site. When you are not a close contact, there are no additional health or safety precautions you need to take. Close contacts will always receive at least one additional notice, along with instructions for quarantine, before the whole school community is notified. Students who are not contacts but whose classes need to move to distance learning will also be notified with a specific letter.
We realize that you may see many case notification letters in a seemingly short period of time. We are monitoring our numbers closely, and will make the appropriate closure decisions if and when our case numbers approach the 5% trigger.
Response to Being a Close Contact
If your child is designated as a close contact to an individual who tests positive for COVID-19, the following conditions must be adhered to:
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Close contacts must quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine means quarantine. A close contact should not be out and about in the community during their quarantine time. It’s a grueling 14 days, but we all need to work together to slow the spread. The following directions for quarantine were taken from the San Mateo County Health Department’s Instructions; the close contact should to the degree possible (we understand these are not always possible):
- Stay home. Do not go to work, school, or public areas.
- Separate from others in your home.
- Stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. It is very important to stay away from people who are at higher risk of serious illness, such as older adults (65 years and older) and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions.
- Use a separate bathroom.
- Do not prepare, serve, or share food to/with others.
- Do not allow visitors into your home.
- Do NOT use public transportation (bus, Caltrain, BART, etc.) or ride share services (Uber, Lyft, etc.).
- It is highly recommended to test for COVID during your child's quarantine period. The current recommendation is to test between days 5 to 7 after exposure. While an individual CANNOT test out of quarantine, testing provides an early indication about other household members potentially being a close contact. If you do have the close contact tested during quarantine and s/he tests negative, stay on top of recommended precautions - an individual can turn positive any time during the 14 day quarantine period.
- If the individual begins to exhibit cold or flu-like symptoms, even if mild, contact your healthcare provider and get tested.
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Siblings may still attend school as long as no one in your home has symptoms or has tested positive. Of course, should your child who is a close contact become positive themselves OR exhibit flu-like symptoms: then your whole family must quarantine. This has been our policy all along, following county health guidelines, and it has been working. At this time there is no reason to change the sibling policy against public health guidelines.
COVID Protocols
MPCSD adheres to the pillars of social distancing, masking, hygiene, and limited gatherings. I commend our staff for following the pillars closely and ensuring our students follow them, too. In addition, windows and doors are open, HEPA filters are on, and desks are spaced six feet apart. You may remind yourself of our protocols by reviewing the COVID One Pagers.
Staff Training
Our school leadership communicates regularly to staff that they must not let their guard down when it comes to following the pillars. New variants of COVID-19 are proving to be more contagious than the original variant. We need to practice our same levels of caution that we practiced when we first opened school. Every site will conduct refresher training sessions to remind all of us of the continued importance of our health and safety protocols.
Whether we like it or not, we are all in this exhausting pandemic together. Your teachers and all MPCSD staff are making sacrifices on a daily basis to keep our schools open. We ask you to make those same sacrifices, or request a transfer into the Virtual Academy. Together, we will see this through, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Sincerely,
Erik Burmeister
