August 13, 2021
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Winnsboro ISD would like to welcome all students back to in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year! We continue to monitor the guidance of local, county, and state health agencies to ensure we find an appropriate balance of health and safety procedures that afford us the opportunity to ensure high levels of student learning. The following health and safety protocols, subject to additional TEA guidance, will be in place for the 2021-22 school year.
As we plan for returning to school at Winnsboro ISD, we recognize that this will be another year navigating through Covid-19. However, we remain committed to supporting your student’s learning, as well as his or her safety. In addition, we recognize the challenges our staff will face again this year while serving our students and families.
This document outlines the procedure our campuses will have in place to prevent or mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to respond if a positive case is identified.
Some major points from the plan include masks, vaccination, contact tracing, and missing school/work. Per our governor's mandate, masks are permissible at WISD, but not required. We will be having more details on a vaccination clinic (Pfizer) coming August 31st to our High School for ages 12 years old and up. WISD doesn’t require vaccination. WISD will not conduct contact tracing until/unless directed by TEA or the State. This means that WISD will not "send home" students or staff who may have been exposed to COVID-19. However, if you are a close contact, we recommend quarantine per CDC guidelines. We will also have a google form to fill out on the Winnsboro ISD home page to provide self-reporting of Covid-like symptoms and confirmed positives for students and staff at WISD. It will be available Monday, August 16th.
Positive Lab-Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 for Students and Staff
As provided in this Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Rule, school systems must exclude students from attending school in person who are actively sick with COVID-19 or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19. Parents must ensure they do not send a child to school on campus if the child has COVID-19 symptoms or is test-confirmed with COVID-19, until the conditions for re-entry are met. Re-entry criteria for Positive Covid:
Exclude until at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset, and 24- hour fever free, and other symptoms have improved. Children who test positive for COVID-19 but do not have any symptoms must stay home until at least 10 days after the day there were tested.
Re-entry criteria for Covid symptoms:
If symptomatic, recommend isolate for 10 days since symptom onset, and fever free, and other symptoms have improved
Or fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever suppressing medications. Fever is a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
Students/Staff Who Are Close Contact
As a reference, close contact determinations are generally based on guidance outlined by the CDC, which notes that individuals who are vaccinated are not considered close contacts. If you have had covid in the past 3 months, you are not considered a close contact. Given the data from 2020-21 showing very low COVID-19 transmission rates in a classroom setting and data demonstrating lower transmission rates among children than adults, school systems are not required to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing. If school systems are made aware that a student is a close contact, the school system should notify the student’s parents. Staff and parents of students who are determined to be close contacts of an individual with COVID-19 may opt to keep their students at home during the recommended stay-at-home period. For individuals who are determined to be close contacts, a 14-day stay-at-home period was previously advised by the CDC based on the incubation period of the virus. CDC has since updated their guidance, and the stay-at-home period can end for students experiencing no symptoms on Day 10 after close contact exposure, if no subsequent COVID-19 testing is performed. If you test negative on a PCR test on or after day 5 of your quarantine period, then you can come back to school on day 7 at that point as long as you are asymptomatic. If you are a close contact and become symptomatic, you will be REQUIRED to stay home for 10 days from the start of your symptoms.
Missed school work
If you are symptomatic for Covid, positive for Covid, or quarantined due to close contact, please notify your campus to discussed missed assignments.
All health and safety protocols are subject to change, according to CDC and TEA guidance. We will continue to monitor all new changes and update you as needed.