Our BYDS Board subcommittee and Medical Advisory Committee have been working overtime to provide us pertinent information and insight to help open our school on-campus in an efficient and safe manner. We are so appreciative of their ongoing support and advice which will continue as long as we are dealing with COVID throughout the school year. The doctors share the latest statistics and trends as well as their interpretations of the ever-changing CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines so we can make informed decisions about the precautions to take on campus, within the school building, and in each classroom during the day.
Beginning in late July, many of the numbers they monitor (new infectious cases, positivity rates, hospitalization rates and capacity) all began trending in the right direction and they became cautiously optimistic about the school opening in early September. (“Cautiously” is a word that will stay with us throughout this ordeal.) The numbers seem to have plateaued over the past few weeks, though still remain well below the highest levels seen in June and July. There remains concern about the Labor Day holiday as prior long weekends (Memorial Day, July 4th) preceded significant spikes in local cases and hospitalizations. This weekend is a good opportunity to engage in social distancing (and mask-wearing) practices to mitigate any community spread before school opens on Tuesday.
The Medical Advisory Committee will continue to monitor the trends in our community and provide guidance if/when we have health concerns on our campus. Together with Nurse Mia, the Admin Team, and the Boards, they will likely offer suggested modifications and adjustments to school learning capabilities at some point. Please help us by keeping your kiddos at home if they have any symptoms and alerting us about known exposures and information that will prove helpful in maintaining a safe school. And remember, we have excelled at our virtual education model and that will remain a viable option for any family that faces a COVID issue at home or simply feels more comfortable in that setting.
