Public Information and Announcements

The last two days in MSAD 54 have marked the single highest two-day case totals since the start of the pandemic, with 18 positive cases in the district. As cases continue to climb, so too does the impact to our students and their families. Although we continue to see very little spread of the virus in our schools, we strongly encourage families to consider pooled testing or vaccination as a means to keep their children in school more safely. For additional information, the USDOE is co-sponsoring a webinar this Thursday evening which will provide information on vaccinations for students age 5-11: https://bit.ly/3Igd52t.

As I mentioned earlier in the week we will be sending Covid-19 updates twice weekly moving forward, generally on Tuesday’s and Fridays. Today’s email includes cases from Tuesday through to today.

We have continued to see increased cases since the holiday break. Over the past four days the district saw a total of twenty additional cases of Covid-19; one case was from Bloomfield Elementary School, two cases from North Elementary School, two cases from Skowhegan Area Middle School, five cases from Canaan Elementary School, and ten cases from Skowhegan Area High School. As a result of these 20 new cases of Covid-19, 47 students have been required to quarantine from school.

If we were to include Monday’s total case count, there were 28 positive cases of Covid-19 this week. As you can see, we have seen a significant uptick in the number of positive cases and that has corresponded in additional students being required to quarantine from school. As we move into this holiday season we ask that everyone continue to be vigilant to social distance and mask when possible, and to never come to school when sick.

Calendar Reminder: Please be reminded that next Wednesday, 10/8, is a district half-day with early dismissal for students at 11:45.

Beginning this week and moving forward, Covid-19 letters from the district will come out twice per week. This is being done not because cases have lessened—as of today we were up to 196 total cases of Covid-19 in the district—but in an attempt to ensure that other important communications do not go unnoticed. Moving forward, we will provide a Covid-19 update each Monday or Tuesday, and each Friday, depending on case counts. Each of our letters will continue to be posted to our public page, along with the corresponding cumulative data that we have provided over the past two school years. Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have questions.

Unfortunately today we saw an increase in cases that resulted from at-home exposure over the holiday. This is to be expected as people gather with one another. We want to commend families for keeping kiddos at home when they are exposed to others who are ill or when they themselves are symptomatic. Today was a great example of our parents being proactive, as we had eight new cases of Covid-19 today, but none resulted in quarantine as a result of in-school contact. Although eight cases are a lot, it is impressive that none resulted in quarantine from school.

I’m writing, of course, to provide you an update of the positive cases of Covid-19 that have impacted our schools, our children, and our staff over the past few days. In addition though, I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday, and happy Thanksgiving.

There were a total of six new cases of Covid-19 that district staff have worked through since my last letter; one case at Bloomfield Elementary School, one case at Canaan Elementary School, one case at North Elementary School, one case at Skowhegan Area Middle School, and two cases at Skowhegan Area High School. As a result of these six cases, 10 individuals have been required to quarantine.

There were a total of two new cases of Covid-19 today; one case at Mill Stream Elementary School and one case at Skowhegan Area Middle School. As a result of these two cases, two additional students have been required to quarantine.

Today a parent reached out asking about a text she received claiming that her child had been a close contact. MSAD 54 is not sending direct texts to families for quarantine, we are calling. Maine CDC will send messages through the Sara Alert System, but they will clearly identify the sender. We encourage anyone receiving a message like this to reach out to their local authorities. The image of the message was sent out can be found at: https://bit.ly/30CfjIe

The focus of the MSAD 54 re-entry plan is a safe return to school for our students, our staff, and our community. The board adopted plan follows the US CDC guidance.

We believe co-curricular activities are an important part of a child’s education in grades 7–12. It is our belief that to the greatest extent possible, with COVID-19 precautions in place, as many of our traditional co-curricular student activities continue to run during the pandemic.

Recommendations: It is the recommendation of the 7-12 administrative team that: MSAD 54 will follow all state and federal requirements for co-curricular activities and will allow co-curricular activities under the following requirements.

There were a total of five new cases of Covid-19 today; one case at Mill Stream Elementary School, one case at Somerset Career and Technical Center, one case at Skowhegan Area High School and two cases at Skowhegan Area Middle School. As a result of these 5 cases, 14 individuals have been required to quarantine.