Dear CSD Families,

What a great start to the new academic year!  Whether watching kindergartners begin their school experience at Creslane or seeing high school seniors arrive for their final first day of school at CHS, there’s always an excitement and appreciation for the learning that will happen all year long. Educators are drawn to the profession to support students and we are thrilled to be returning to full-time, in-person instruction.

While the new school year is exciting with in-person learning, I know many of you may have concerns regarding what happens if your child is asked to stay home due to being exposed to a person with COVID-19, or if they become ill themselves.

You may also wonder what isolation and quarantine could mean for your family. Quarantine and isolation are measures that help slow the spread of COVID-19.

• Isolation means that someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 stays home and stays away from other people in their home as much as possible. If your child, or anyone else in your home, tests positive for COVID-19, we ask that they follow isolation guidelines, including any specific instructions from Lane County Public Health. Current guidelines require a 10-day isolation period, provided the individual is symptom free at the end of the isolation period.
• Quarantine means keeping someone who may have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others outside their home. A person can spread COVID-19 48 hours before they have symptoms. Quarantine reduces the risk of accidentally spreading the virus to other people. Due to current high-risk levels in Lane County, individuals are asked to quarantine for 14 days.

What happens if there is a COVID-19 exposure at Creswell schools?

At Creswell School District, we collaborate closely with Lane County Public Health to notify families if their student has been exposed and needs to isolate or quarantine. In the K-12 setting, there are now exceptions to the exposure definition:

• Students who were within 3-6 feet of someone with confirmed COVID-19, but were engaged in consistent and correct use of masks and adherence to other prevention strategies (This exception does not apply to teachers, staff, or other adults).
• Close contacts who have been fully immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine (received both doses of a 2-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-vaccine) for at least 14 days following the series at the time of exposure are not subject to quarantine.  Fully immunized close contacts should continue to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 during the two weeks following their exposure and, if symptoms develop, should isolate and seek testing.
• Close contacts who themselves had a previous confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 case (verified by a positive COVID-19 test or local public health authority) and have completed their isolation are not required to quarantine if the new exposure happened within 90 days of their symptom onset or first positive test, whichever is earlier.

Quarantine is only recommended for people who have direct contact with a confirmed CASE, not close contact with a CONTACT.

COVID-19 Communication

If we have a student or staff member who tests positive for COVID-19, we will be contacting all persons who had close contact with the person who tested positive.  If you hear of a positive case in our school community and are not contacted, that means it was not reported that your or your student had close contact with the infected person.

What should I do if my child is ill?

First and foremost, your student should stay home from school if:

• They have a temperature of 100.5 or higher.
• They are feeling ill, even if they do not have COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19.
• They are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and should be isolated.
• They test positive for COVID-19, even if they show no symptoms.
• They have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and the school and local public health department recommends quarantine.
• If a member of your household tests positive for COVID-19.

If you or your child is sick with COVID symptoms, please notify the school office immediately and DO NOT send your child to school.

Thank you for partnering with us to do all we can to slow the spread.  Please continue to wear your masks, get vaccinated if you are eligible, limit gatherings with other households and, when possible, move social activities outside. Our goal is to keep students safe, healthy, and engaged in our classrooms all year long.

Sincerely,

Mike Johnson
Superintendent