March 6, 2020
Dear Parents and Community,
There is a great deal of media coverage concerning the COVID-19 and many people are concerned about its impact on work, play and school.
As always, the safety of our students, staff and families remains our top priority. We will act to protect everyone’s health and wellbeing while still providing a strong education for our students. The staff and administration at VSCSD are closely monitoring the situation and preparing in case the virus becomes more prevalent or present in our community. For now, there are no indications of an outbreak, but we know that might change.
We will continue our close partnership and communication with Benton County Public Health and the Iowa Department of Public Health. We are confident they will provide on-going guidance just as they have for other health concerns we’ve faced.
We all play a role in reducing the likelihood of an outbreak or spread of the infection. As with any flu or other illness, we encourage everyone to practice healthy habits. There is something you can do! Review good hygiene habits with your family to help keep them safe. Some of these actions include:
- If your child is sick, do not send him/her to school. Allow them time to feel better so that they are not at risk of infecting others. While we promote attendance, we do not want students coming to school ill just so they have perfect attendance.
- Wash your hands regularly, especially after using the restroom and before preparing or consuming food. Wash for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Be sure to also wash your fingertips. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid coughing or sneezing into your hands or in the air. Always try to cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough/sneeze into your arm or elbow.
- As much as you can, avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.
We have reviewed our cleaning practices and policies. We recently purchased equipment to better disinfect restrooms and classrooms. Our custodians work to make sure surfaces are regularly cleaned and disinfected.
We will continue to communicate with you. We have found that the most effective way to communicate this information is using our school website, social media pages (Facebook and Instagram), School Messenger to send e-mails, texts and/or phone calls, emails or letters home to parents, staff emails, text alerts and announcements at school.
As always, please contact me with questions or comments!
Respectfully,
Mary Jo Hainstock, Superintendent