As you know, the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Missouri was reported in St. Louis County this weekend. The situation is very fluid, and updates on the virus are frequently changing as medical professionals gather more information. I want to assure you that we are in frequent contact with the St. Charles County Department of Public Health and that we are closely monitoring the guidance from not only our local and state health care professionals, but federal guidance through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well.
Currently, the District is taking the following actions:
- We are closely monitoring student and staff attendance and tracking the symptoms our nurses are seeing in their buildings.
- We will continue to encourage staff and students to stay home when they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms. Parents, when you call in to report an absence we ask that you be very specific to help us track symptoms as well.
- We have met with our custodial leadership team and we are stepping up our daily cleaning of surfaces and items that have high touchpoints.
- We are utilizing additional sanitizers and specialized equipment when we experience an increase in illnesses and/or absences in a building.
- Starting this week, we are bringing in additional staff and deep cleaning our buildings in addition to the regular daily cleaning. Each school will be deep cleaned through spring break and we will repeat the deep cleaning process at every building following spring break.
If you have travel plans over spring break, please be aware of the guidance from the CDC if you are traveling to a country that has a Travel Health Notice.
As adults, we have many questions related to the virus, so we can expect that our children have questions as well. The National Association of School Psychologists has posted this helpful resource for parents.
We have created a page on the District website that has the latest Novel coronavirus update from the District as well as links to a variety of resources from the Centers for Disease Control, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, and the St. Charles County Department of Public Health.
As the situation unfolds, we will continue to provide you with updates. We appreciate your cooperation and support as we work to keep our students and staff healthy and safe.
Curtis Cain, Ph.D.
Superintendent
