Last Week Before Christmas Break
This is our last week before Christmas break, and there is no early dismissal on December 18th. There is, however, a red, green, white, and Christmas attire out of uniform dress day on Friday. School starts after the break on January 4th. See the school calendar regarding ECLC over the break.
Last week, I mentioned that it was going to be harder for me to really get into the Christmas spirit without being able to watch the little ones all dressed in their Christmas clothes singing Christmas songs in the church with all the decorations lit up. Maybe that challenge is a good thing for me. It’s definitely easier to do the same thing each year perhaps even as if they’re on auto-pilot. This year, I have to really think about things and be deliberate. Maybe that will be good for me. And, maybe I’ll appreciate it even more when we can do the annual traditions we’ve cherished for so many years!
Below is a link to a .pdf file that shows several graphs of Scott County and JFK data. I’ll add a few comments below as well.
- A pondering from the Scott County Health Department on Wednesday was whether or not we were “bottoming out” with our COVID rates. The Scott County 14 Day Positivity Rate, for example, declined from 26-27% about three weeks ago and has hovered between about 18-19% for the last two weeks. The positivity rate is the “big” data point used by the Iowa Department of Education for schools.
- The CDC risk of transmission in schools slides show Scott County’s numbers are still falling but have a long way to go to return to even a moderate risk level in the first two core indicators.
- Please remember that the maps with rates of positive cases per school district boundaries are not just student counts. They include residents of any age who live within the boundaries of the four school districts in Scott County.
- The second JFK graph shows the percent of absences due to people being “sick” with something that is reportable to the health department and can be transmitted from one person to another. I have added a note in the graph regarding the figure that may be examined by the Iowa Department of Education should a school/district apply for a two week closure. The DE would be looking for a 10% illness absenteeism rate. Our rate on Friday was about 1.5% up from 1% the previous Friday.
- The third JFK graph shows the percentage of students and staff that are quarantining either because they are required to because they are close contacts or they are “voluntarily” quarantining, which usually occurs as they wait for another family members’ tests results and they are not yet required to quarantine. On Friday, we had about 3% of students and staff quarantining.
- The fourth JFK graph combines some of the sickness and quarantining data. On Friday, we had approximately 4.38% of students and staff who were expected to be in the building absent due to illness or quarantining. I have added notes regarding which figures we would be looking at for shorter term closures for the building or for classrooms.
- The fifth JFK graph shows the total percent of staff and students who are expected to be in the building but were absent. Even during a pandemic, other things continue, and people are absent for a variety of other reasons. Our total absenteeism rate was 7.79% on Friday up from 7.13% the previous Friday. The graph also shows the total percent of enrolled students and employed staff who were not in the building: 14.64% on Friday, including the long-term remote learners.
- Meaning needs to be attributed to the numbers and can sometimes be relative. In Iowa, we’re glad to see our numbers falling. Others in my own family, however, are getting much more anxious about COVID in their states/counties as their rates are increasing, and their rates are still significantly less than ours! My youngest daughter will be coming home from college for Christmas next weekend, and, even though she’s been quarantining as best she can in preparation to come home, she’s nervous about possibly bringing COVID home with her. I want to tell her, “Do you know where you’re coming from and where you’re going to? You’re more likely to get COVID here than you are in bringing it with you.” On a personal note, my prayers are also with our extended family members who lost a relative to COVID this week.
End of the Mid-Quarter Was Friday
The end of the 2nd mid-quarter was Friday. Mid-quarter reports should be emailed to families before Christmas break.
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.
What Happens to Financial Assistance if the STOs Are Not Fully Funded?
That’s a question we’d rather not face in Scott County. More than 620 students in Scott County are benefiting from financial assistance through the Mississippi Valley School Tuition Organization (MVSTO). In 2019-20, that figure represented about 35% of all students, and JFK had 36% of its K-8 students receiving financial assistance. The need only increased in 2020, and no one really knows what 2021-22 will bring.
In order to provide the level of financial assistance needed each year, however, donations are also needed each year, and we are significantly behind where we need to be. Donations to the MVSTO are unique in that they benefit both students and donors. Students receive the financial assistance needed by their families so they can attend Catholic/private schools, and donors receive a 65% tax CREDIT, not deduction, off of their Iowa taxes, AND the other 35% is a charitable deduction on their federal taxes. A $100 donation to the MVSTO, for example, allows one to reduce one’s Iowa tax bill by $65, and, at the 32% federal income tax bracket, one might be able to reduce one’s tax bill by about $11. If you follow the math, a student receives the $100 benefit in financial assistance while the donor has a net cost of, not $100, but only $24!
Donations for this year’s taxes must be made by December 31st. Act now! Use the following link for more information and the forms needed: https://www.mvsto.org/
Chad
