Upcoming Dates
November 25: Dismissal is at 12:15 p.m. There is bus transportation. There is no afternoon preschool.
November 26-27: Thanksgiving break. No classes. No ECLC.
Online JFK Spirit Store
Click HERE for the online JFK spirit store developed by Home & School. Winter hats and scarves are now available, as well as some great stocking stuffer ideas.
COVID Related
As I mentioned last week in our messages regarding wearing face coverings at all times regardless of social distancing and our decision to continue with face-to-face instruction at this time, what we have going on at JFK itself is currently manageable. Here is some of our data from Friday. (We will work to see if we can find a good way to show data in table or graph formats on our website for the future.)
Percent of students and staff absent due to COVID or COVID symptoms: 0.23%
Percent of students and staff absent due to other illnesses that we have to report to the health department, which includes gastrointestinal and respiratory issues (the types of things for which you give symptoms when you call your student in “sick”): 1.41%
Percent of students and staff who are, thus, “sick:” 1.64%
Percent of students and staff who are quarantining because they were close contacts to a positive COVID case: 3.52%
Total percent of students and staff who are “sick” or quarantining: 5.16%
Total percent of students and staff who are absent for other reasons, including vacations, funerals, appointments, temporarily kept at home even though not required to quarantine, etc.: 4.7%
Note that the approximately 5% of the student body doing long-term remote learning is not included in any of these figures.
Total percent of students and staff who were absent for any reason: 9.86%
The only way we can manage to keep our schools open and provide face-to-face instruction is for everyone, young and old, both at school and, more importantly, it seems, outside of school, to practice the proven mitigation steps: wear face coverings, practice social distancing, implement good face and hand hygiene by washing ones hands regularly and/or using hand sanitizer regularly, avoid large gatherings, stay home when ill, cooperate with contact tracers, follow isolation and quarantine guidelines, etc.
For those keeping up with some of the data I’ve reported regularly for Scott County, see the below:
- As of November 11th, Scott County’s 14 day average for new cases was at a RATE of 1,330 per 100,000 persons. On November 4th, the rate was 783 per 100,000. The CDC indicates that even moderate risk of transmission in schools is in the 20 to <50 rate of cases per 100,000. We haven’t seen that low data in Scott County since May.
- The 14 day positivity rate calculation used by the Department of Education for Scott County is at 26.6% today. Even by Iowa’s standards, the community transmission in Scott County is rated as Substantial Uncontrolled. For some context, I again read this weekend about the city of New York. They were concerned that the positivity rate was somewhere between 2.4% and 3%! The lowest county in Iowa has a 14 day positivity rate average of 8.4%.
- Genesis hospital officials announced this week that they were curtailing some of their procedures. Six weeks ago, the percent of hospital beds used for COVID patients was at about 4.3%. On November 4th, it was 14%. On November 11th, it was 25%.
- According to the CDC’s document regarding the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools (see the link below), the risk of transmission in Scott County schools continues to be in the highest levels of risk according to the number of new cases per 100,000 population, positivity rate, and percent change in number of new cases per 100,000. The percentage of hospital beds actually used, however, was at the lowest risk level. The percent of hospital beds now used for COVID patients is in the highest risk level.
- The health department also mentioned the challenges they are facing keeping up with the number of cases. They are lucky to communicate with positive cases in a timely manner; to communicate with close contacts, if they can reach them at all, is becoming less and less timely. People need to follow the self-isolation guidelines for positive cases or quarantine guidelines for close contacts on their own without waiting for contact from the health department.
- The health department also mentioned (and superintendents at the weekly meeting agreed) that youth sports leagues outside of the schools are also creating challenges. Not only do unmasked kids seem to be together, if even for just the carpool to the tournament, but so do their parents.
CDC indicators, thresholds of COVID transmission in schools
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you some metrics that might be used should there be a need for a two week building shut-down, a one week building shut-down, a shut-down of a particular homeroom, a mask mandate for the building, and a mask mandate for a particular homeroom. We currently have a “mask mandate” for everyone regardless of social distancing. It’s a tough conversation to have: act too soon and you risk compromising the education available, but act too late and you risk or have already risked compromising everyone’s health. Below is our current draft. It is currently being reviewed in light of what is happening around us in Scott County:
COVID Metrics for building closure, face masks, 10-21-2020
Below are the CDC guidelines for face coverings, which JFK has adopted:
- Face coverings should have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric
- This guidance applies to gaiters as well. Gaiters should have at least two layers or be folded to make two layers.
- Face coverings should completely cover the nose and mouth
- Face coverings should fit snugly against the sides of one’s face and not have gaps
- Masks with exhalation valves or vents are not recommended as virus particles may escape
- Face shields are not proven to be effective face coverings
- Do not gather without a mask with individuals living outside of your household
- Always wear a mask in public places
- Stop gatherings beyond immediate household until cases and test positivity decrease significantly
Chad
