Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
Wrangell is currently experiencing an uptick in COVID cases. After consultation with various State and local Public Health officials, the administration has decided to keep the schools open at this time. The following factors helped determine our decision:
1) We have a lot of confidence in our mitigation procedures. Although we have had a number of isolated incidents of staff/students contracting COVID this year, the spread of the virus in the school has been very limited or even non-existent. Our mitigation protocols are informed by CDC recommendations and are working extremely well. Because we are enforcing these recommendations, school may well be among the safest places for young people to be.
2) Most of our teachers and staff are now vaccinated, as are many of our students who are 16 years old and older.
3) As far as we can tell, the current COVID cases in Wrangell are fairly removed from the students. The cases have either had no contact with the schools or have been in quarantine for quite some time.
4) Many studies are now highlighting the impact of school closures on students. Not only is their educational growth being impeded; many experts are warning about the tremendously negative impacts of school closures on students' social and emotional health.
We will revise the published mitigation plan to include vaccinations since they were not available at the time of the original plan.
Please be assured that we are monitoring the situation closely. While we have decided to keep the schools open at this time, we also recognize that this decision may have to be revisited quickly if or when the situation changes.
We encourage students who do not feel comfortable returning to school at this time to continue their education by attending school virtually by logging into their online classes.
The safety of our students is paramount, and we'll keep you informed as circumstances change. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.
Thank you very much.
