October 5, 2020
Dear Parents, Guardians and School Community:
I would like to bring you up to speed on two situations that have happened in neighboring districts that I think will give us some indication as to how the Oneida County Department of Health will deal with a positive case of COVID-19 if and when it occurs in our district.
In the first situation, an elementary teacher tested positive. The initial exposure appears to have occurred at a community function. The teacher’s student teacher also tested positive. As a result, the Oneida County Department of Health placed all of the students in the teacher’s classroom on a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Special area teachers were not quarantined because they had limited exposure in the classroom. All students and staff appear to be asymptomatic. Remote instruction was started.
In the second situation, a secondary school student tested positive. All other students who shared at least three classes with the student were quarantined for 14-days. Those students and staff sharing none, one or two common classes with the student were placed on a self-watch list. While on the self-watch list, they are allowed to attend school, but must have their temperature checked twice a day and monitor for symptoms.
I share this information with you so if/when we have a positive case at Westmoreland, you have an idea as to what we will be expected to do. As you know and appreciate, all districts are different and, therefore, could be treated differently, but I think this provides us with some insight and allows us to plan.
Additionally, it appears it takes about 48 hours for the Oneida County Department of Health to complete contact tracing. Consequently, if/when we experience a positive case, we may be forced to initially shut down a building for about two days before the Oneida County Department of Health completes its quarantine list.
If we are forced to shut down, we are poised and ready to transition to 100 percent remote instruction on a moment’s notice, just as we did last March. I know this will create child care issues, but know that from a school’s perspective, we have a plan and are ready to continue instruction. If possible, it might be good to think about how you will handle your child care situation ahead of time. While I hope we will never have to shut down, we would be naïve to believe we are immune to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In closing, I just want to keep you updated, and will continue to do so as I continue to learn more.
Have a good evening.
Sincerely,
Rocco Migliori
Superintendent of Schools
*This message is a written summary of Superintendent Migliori's telephone message to the school community on October 5, 2020.*