COVID-19 Prevention, Mitigation, and Response Procedures at Oakwood ISD
7/30/20
Dear Parent/Guardian,
As we plan for returning to school at Oakwood ISD, we recognize that this will be an unusual school year, but we remain committed to supporting your student’s learning, as well as his or her safety. This document outlines the procedures our campuses will have in place to prevent or mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to respond if a positive case is identified. We hope this transparency helps you to make a decision about your student’s on-campus attendance at Oakwood.
The virus that causes COVID-19 can infect people of all ages. That said, research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), among others, has found that while children do get infected by COVID-19 and some severe outcomes have been reported in children, relatively few children with COVID-19 are hospitalized or have severe symptoms. For many children, there are distinct benefits to attending school in person, including instructional, social, and safety benefits. For these reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics has made a statement supporting on-campus instruction for students in the coming year.
While it is not possible to eliminate all risk of furthering the spread of COVID-19, the current science suggests there are many steps schools can take to reduce the risks to students, teachers, staff, and their families significantly. The Oakwood ISD strategy for opening and operating is outlined below. A more detailed plan can be found on our district website oakwoodisd.net.
Prevention
To prevent COVID-positive individuals from entering our campuses, your student’s school will have the following COVID-19 symptom screening procedures in place:
All staff will be required to self-screen daily. This includes screening questions and a temperature check.
All visitors will be required to screen upon arrival.
Parents are asked to proactively identify when their student exhibits COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed and to keep them home.
All students will be screened daily for temperature.
Weekly student screening for Covid-19 symptoms will be conducted through the use of a Google form. In the event a parent has not filled the Google form each week, a student may fill out a paper copy which will be available at school. (See attached screening form.)
The google form will be posted on the Oakwood ISD website by Friday, August 7 and will be emailed to all student email accounts as well.
Information collected in these screenings will not be retained if the screening is passed. If a parent indicates that a student is demonstrating COVID-19 symptoms, the school will retain that information until the student meets the criteria for return to school.
Criteria for Return to School
Conditions for return to school after an individual shows symptoms or gets a positive test result:
Either:
24 hours with no fever; and
Symptoms improved; and
10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
Or:
An acute infection test at an approved testing location (https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/) that comes back negative for COVID-19
Or:
A doctor’s note indicating an alternate diagnosis
Mitigation
Our district will be taking the following steps across each of our campuses to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
All adults in the building will wear masks.
All students in 5th grade and above will be required to wear masks, particularly when they are within six feet of one another, except when participating in activities that cannot be conducted with a mask on, such as eating, or unless it is not developmentally appropriate for the student to wear a mask.
Additional cleanings, daily disinfection, and contracting with GermBlast to disinfect the school regularly.
Response
In the event of a COVID-positive case on campus, the campus will take the following steps:
The student or staff member will be immediately isolated.
All areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case will be closed off until disinfected.
All teachers, staff, and families of all students in that school will be notified.
The local health department or county officials will be notified.
Contact tracing will be conducted to better understand and control any potential spread.
The school will have the option of closing the campus and going to remote learning for up to 5 days depending on the nature of the outbreak.
We hope that this information gives you additional insight on our processes and our ability to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. As always, plans are subject to change based on the latest information from the CDC and TEA. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Superintendent Russell Holden, Principal Dr. Stephanie Johnson, or Curriculum Director Jenni Scheppler for additional information.
While this will be a challenging year, we believe it can also be a great one, and we look forward to supporting your student in his or her learning journey.
Sincerely,
Russell Holden,
Superintendent
Oakwood ISD
COVID Screening
Staff, Students and Parents,
As the CDC and TEA recommends, Oakwood ISD will be conducting weekly health screenings to help mitigate the potential spread of the Covid-19 virus. As a part of our Covid-19 response, we will be requiring daily temperature checks as well as weekly health screenings. Please answer the questions below before coming to campus each week.
Name________________________________________________ Grade:________________
Have you had a temperature above 100 degrees? Yes or No
Have you had any of the following symptoms that would possibly indicate a Yes or No
COVID-19 infection: a sore throat; uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty
breathing; diarrhea, vomiting, or other abdominal pain; new onset of a severe
headaches, especially with fever?
3. Have you been in "close contact" with anyone displaying COVID-19 symptoms? Yes or No
Close contact is defined as: Being directly exposed to infectious secretions
(being coughed on) or being within 6 feet for a cumulative duration of 15
minutes if either occurred at any time in the last 14 days at the same time
the individual was infectious.
(A copy of this information will be mailed home)