COVID Update 4.5.2021

Dear WVCSD Community,

I hope you have enjoyed your time off during spring recess. We have been busy completing the necessary preparations so our middle school and high school students may safely return to in-person instruction five days a week. This transition tomorrow, April 6th, is welcome and significant news as it means that students at all grade levels in Warwick will be learning full-time in our school buildings.

It is very challenging to balance COVID-19 safety concerns with the educational and emotional needs of students, so I must again emphasize that this pandemic is not over and we all need to maintain safe COVID-19 practices to ensure infection rates remain low, our students stay safe, and our schools stay open.

Travel Guidance

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has eased some travel restrictions, which you may view here. The updates include eliminating the requirement for quarantine and testing for asymptomatic domestic travelers returning to the state. However, I must emphasize that no one should come to school with any of the following symptoms:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Please also remain home if there has been contact with anyone who:

• Has tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 14 days
• Is suspected of having COVID-19
• Is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test

Daily Health Screener

Everyone must continue to complete the COVID-19 screening survey each morning before their children board buses or enter the schools. It will still be sent via email to you each morning. If your child is not feeling well, or you are waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test, please do not have your student board the school bus or report to the school building.  

Reducing the Need to Quarantine

During the spring recess, the NYSDOH confirmed its guidelines mandating school districts to quarantine staff and students when a person who ended up testing positive for COVID-19 enters a school building. 

Those quarantines are disruptive to us all but they are required. This year has shown us, over and over, that one infection often leads to mandatory quarantines of several staff, students, and teachers. Thus far, we have quarantined more than 1,100 students this school year.

Therefore, with more students in our buildings, it is only logical to be even more vigilant with the routine precautions needed to prevent the spread, including Warwick’s 3W’s: wearing masks, washing hands, and watching your distance. After reviewing these positive cases among students and staff who attend or work in our schools, the data indicate that the safety efforts that students, families, faculty and staff are taking have significantly reduced the risk of transmission in the schools.

Continue to have a child care plan

As we discussed during our Town Hall meetings in late August, it is important to have a child care plan in place if, in the event, the District is required to quarantine your child. 

Transportation

The District has made adjustments to the middle school/high school bus schedules to accommodate additional students while maximizing social distancing and reducing occupancy on each bus. We have added new routes and made adjustments to others to ensure that school buses have significantly fewer riders than the maximum capacity. In making these route adjustments, we’ve been sensitive to family schedules as we understand there are established routines for this school year. 

Please check the Parent Portal to view the updated bus information for your student. A few updates were made as recently as this afternoon, so please be sure to confirm your child’s information.

COVID-19 Case Update: March 26 – April 5 

The overview written below will provide you with a summary of COVID-19 positive cases, which have occurred since our last update 11 days ago. The District notified any students/families impacted by the quarantines. 

• Pine Island Elementary School: Pine Island Elementary has had one positive student case. 
• Park Avenue Elementary School: Park Avenue Elementary has had one positive student case. 
• Sanfordville Elementary School: Sanfordville Elementary has had two positive student cases.
• Middle School: The Middle School has had two positive student cases as well as two positive employee cases.   
• High School: The High School has had seven positive student cases and one positive employee case. 

Again, all families impacted by the quarantines above were notified.

We continue to update our COVID-19 Dashboard/Report Card daily – New York State’s COVID Report Card. 

As always, plans may change based on a variety of factors we cannot control, including updated guidance/mandates and changing conditions. Thank you again for your patience, understanding and continued support of this important next step to our school year.

Sincerely,

David Leach

Superintendent of Schools