Questions around Covid-19 from Forest Hill parents
These questions were captured at the PTA General Meeting on January 13th and kindly and patiently been answered by our Principal Chitwood and VP Armann.
For any further questions please contact the Principal or VP directly.
1) When does the dashboard get updated?
Daily- we have not had a lot of cases lately.
2) Can the district put a last updated date there?
We can share this request.
3) Who informs the parents of a positive case in their class?
Per new Public Health guidelines, a letter was emailed to all parents informing them due to the high volume individual notifications will not be sent. Parents need to assume that everyone is being exposed and to monitor symptoms.
4) When does this information gets relayed to the entire class? Parents still need this information.
N/A due to new public health department guidelines. These guidelines are effective until 2/11/2022.
5) Can school send the notification to all the parents as soon as they know of it and through multiple channels? E.g Phone, email to both sets of parents?
N/A due to the new guidelines from the SCCPHD
6) Can the school send out a daily case update. e.g. total positives that day or by classroom?
N/A due to the new guidelines.
7) How does Modified quarantine work and what does extracurricular activities include when your child is in MQ?
N/A, as per District Meeting Jan 13 modified quarantine is not existing anymore.
8) Is the school considering spacing the recess out more?
No- Students are outdoors and the risks are less. It would also significantly impact schedules.
9) It appears that there is a clear directive to keep schools open. What is our contingency plan if we become short of staff?
Fortunately, we have not had a high volume of staff out. However, we do have subs available and many staff district wide with the proper credentials to cover classes if a sub is not available.
10) What factors does the district use to determine if the case is external or internal? Is the contact Tracing done by CUSD or Grapefruit?
N/A now since we are not tracking and tracing under the new guidelines. However, the district works directly with the public health department that makes this determination. This process can take a little longer since the high volume across the state and Santa Clara County.
11) Does the Contact Tracing include a conversation with the family to determine where the virus came from?
N/A
12) What part of the communication Grapefruit’s responsibilities vs District vs School?
All official communication comes from GF.
13) Who is our dedicated contact for Grapefruit? Where do we find their policies, procedures and timelines?
You can reach out to them and visit their websites. Multiple communication has been sent out with their email.
14) What percentage of cases have been caught by school Grapefruit testing?
Unknown by FH Admin.
15) Are kids with positive cases in their class separated from others on the playground?
Kids who test positive are required to stay home and quarantine. MQ never involved isolation. It was about testing and minimizing after school events. Although this too is no longer in effect. We will see what guidelines are shared with us after Feb 11th.
16) Why don’t we distinguish between sharing information with the class about positive cases vs figuring out who are close contacts? We can avoid the delay for at least the information sharing aspect?
No information of a positive case is being sent to the entire class. These guidelines are effective until Feb. 11.
17) Ms. Chitwood- We appreciate the testing the school is doing. However, if you are notified of a positive test, irrespective of the tracking and tracing that needs to be done it would be ideal to notify the parents ASAP.
Irrelevant now since the new guidelines.
18) Will Grapefruit testing happen more than just once a week since there are more exposures? Guidelines from the public health department recommends weekly. We have already used 1 of our home tests and it is hard to get tests anywhere else.
We are one of the few districts that provide this service. If parents want more testing, they can reach out to their health providers
19) If there are so many people (staff & students) who are falling sick, shouldn’t we start to be more accommodating for the Independent Study options for children who have vulnerable family members and would like to avail of this option?
Independent Studies are not intended for extensive time out of school. Anyone is able to submit a request 10 days in advance of needing to take the time off. IS are approved on a case by case basis. Students who are out due to quarantining are provided with workpackets.
Please refer to this link for more on IS.
20) Can you please elaborate what this modified quarantine statement means?
Test within 24hrs and/ or 5 days later
21) What is our cleaning protocol? Is the sanitizing happening as usual? How often is the classroom floor mopped?
Cleaning schedule is followed as set up by our Maintenance and Operation department.
22) What are the options for teachers regarding testing and are any home tests being given to them?
Teachers can get free Grapefruit Covid testing any day of the week at any CUSD school. They have the schedule of which schools have testing on which days.
23) What is the district doing to keep the morale up for the staff in these unprecedented times.
District has been working hard to provide resources to any staff who may need support. Counseling services are available as well as Monthly newsletters that have ideas and resources for all staff.