Ell-Saline USD 307 is giving its student an extra day of spring break, according to a letter from Superintendent Brian Rowley.
Following is the letter as posted on the Ell-Saline Elementary CPTA Facebook page.
Dear Parents, Students and Staff
In response to the Corona Virus / Covid-19 Situation:
I spent this Saturday afternoon in a virtual meeting with the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. As I stated in my email yesterday, this is an ever-changing situation and what we decide one day may change soon afterward. We will always make decisions based on the safety of our students and staff and under the expert guidance of the Kansas State Department of Education, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Saline County Health Department.
In the meeting today we were told that nothing had changed overnight but recommendations were clarified. Some of the recommendations are as follows:
Limit classes to 30 students and practice “social-distancing” with a recommendation of keeping students six feet away from each other in the classrooms and cafeterias.
Limit gatherings of longer than 10 minutes to 100 persons or less.
Encourage students and staff to practice good hygiene / wash hands often throughout the day.
Anyone with an active cough should be sent home.
If a student or staff member is sick, they should not come to school.
Spring Break this past week has made it difficult to prepare our schools for this situation.
In order to better prepare, only staff will report on Monday, March 16th. There will be no school for students on Monday, March 16th.
We will re-evaluate the situation each day as new information and guidance is provided us. Please read the sections below as they may answer some of your questions.
Our job is to provide our students with a quality education in a safe environment. I know that many people have varying opinions about the Corona Virus. We will probably never know if we over-react to this situation but if we are going to err, we want to err on the side of safety for our students and staff.
Brian Rowley, Superintendent USD 307 Ell-Saline
WHY ARE SOME DISTRICTS CANCELLING SCHOOL AND OTHERS ARE NOT?
County Health Departments have the ability to close schools due to a health concern. Each county works independently from the others. KDHE recommendations are that a school will not close without a positively identified case of Covid-19 in the school. The school will then be closed for at least 14 days. Currently we do not have a positive Covid-19 case in Saline County.
CAN I KEEP MY STUDENT HOME FROM SCHOOL?
It is always the parent’s responsibility to make decisions in regards to their child’s safety. We are advised to follow policy in regards to absences but to also work with families while we go through this crisis. While currently the high risk groups are people with existing health issues and those over the age of 60, we will try to work with families that decide to keep their children at home.
If your child has symptoms of any sickness, please keep them at home.
CAN MY CHILD ATTEND SCHOOL IF WE TRAVELED DURING SPRING BREAK?
If you traveled to another country or out-of-state to an area that has Corona Virus outbreaks, you should contact the health department before returning to school. For more information see the CDC website on travel: https://www.cdc.gov/corona.../2019-ncov/travelers/index.html