Dear NWLSD Staff and Families,
On December 4, 2020, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) updated their guidelines to include an alternative isolation and quarantine timeline. However, per their recommendation, the 14-day quarantine period for individuals who have been identified as close contacts, is still best practice and will allow families and school districts to keep positive cases lower in number. (Please note that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention still promotes and encourages 14-day quarantine guidelines for close contacts.)
As a District, we are committed to keeping our staff and students safe. Your wellbeing is of the utmost importance. We have therefore decided that as a district we will continue with our 14-day quarantine Covid-19 protocols and guidance until the end of the semester. In January, we will re-examine the guidance and the number of cases in our area to determine if other considerations should be made. At this time, we have approximately 6,000 in-person learners and 1,200 staff in 14 buildings. As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise in our community, we want to make sure that we are making every effort to protect the safety of our staff and our students and to avoid as many cases in our buildings as possible. Keeping the 14-day period will allow our in-district contact tracer the opportunity to accurately identify close contacts and will give our families and our staff the time to develop symptoms at home before returning to school.
NWLSD will continue to send out notifications to our staff and families surrounding Covid-19 positive cases. If additional documentation or notifications are received from your local health department, the return date that the District has provided with the 14-day quarantine period will stand. We understand that this may affect staff leave and sick time as well as family schedules however, as a district we hold the responsibility to make every effort to keep our staff and students safe.
We ask you to continue to stay vigilant in your effort to monitor your health and the health of your children, as well as to follow the safety protocols that our District has in place. Please continue to wear your masks, practice social distancing, be careful to avoid large gatherings, report positive cases to your building administrator and to stay home and to keep your child(ren) home when awaiting test results and/or you are exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
We have attached our Color Guidance and At-Home Wellness references below for families: