By DR. DEREK ARROWOOD
Hamilton Heights Superintendent
This week we received positive test confirmations for 25 students, which included five high school, 11 middle school, and nine elementary students along with four middle school staff members. It is important to note that the majority of these positives are attributable to household transmission. We have followed our established protocols as outlined in our Re-Entry Plan and continue to work in collaboration with and under the guidance of our local and state health partners. We send our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
As I have shared in the past, our priority is to provide the best learning environment possible for students while keeping everyone safe and in school with as few disruptions as possible. As educators, we know that kids learn best, perform better, and have greater outcomes when they are in school. Moreover, being in school is invaluable to their overall mental health and well-being. As educators, we are not experts on the COVID-19 virus or its variants. This is why we work in collaboration with local and state medical and health experts and, as a district, rely on their recommendations and guidance.
We developed our mitigation measures and safety protocols as part of our Re-Entry Plan using guidance from the CDC, IDOH, and our local healthcare partners. We also monitor our in-house data daily, keep a close watch on the health trends taking place in our buildings and district, and continually review our current safety protocols. For example, when our data indicated that most of our positives over the past two weeks were related to household transmission, we adjusted our quarantine protocols for when a member of a household is positive for COVID-19.
Gov. Holcomb’s new executive order, which included updates to the state’s guidance on quarantines, does not impact our current protocols. We will continue to base our plan and any adjustments on local data and what makes the best sense for our students and staff in our district. We have and will continue to follow the Governor’s guidance, however, for now, at Heights, the decision to mask remains a personal choice and responsibility.
Thank you for your support and working together with us as we make, at times, difficult decisions, in the best interests of our students.
#WeAreHuskies