Baldwin County superintendent extends mask mandate to September 21, possibly into October. The UAB School of Public Health is currently collaborating with the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama State Department of Education to offer voluntary asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in Alabama K-12 schools to students, faculty, and staff. Confirmed cases topped out in the 50s before dropping down to the teens and single digits on a weekly basis. I am very hopeful this will be enough time (by September 21) but if the numbers have not fallen sufficiently by then, we will continue the mask requirement and revisit the removal again on Fall Break, October 8, Tyler wrote. CDC data that tracked Pfizer vaccine trial participants for 100 days after their boosters suggests that positive effects of the shot may start as soon as seven days after getting boosted. The school systems mask policy is in place for all children in grades 2 and up. But other school systems, which do not have the financial means to provide extra compensation, are relying on outside help for support. This school policy has always been subject to a doctor's note which could prescribe more or less time away from. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Get help learning how to manage stress and adapt to change with services and support from organizations across the state. 4/14 COVID-19 TESTING DIRECT PATIENT LINES. Baldwin County School Board meeting, August 19, 2021 . School boards are looking at ways to boost employee morale. I do not like what this virus is doing to our employees, our students, your families, and our communities.. Schools have had to temporarily close because the highly contagious variant is sweeping through counties and filling up hospitals. Official websites use .gov In other news, Charles Lee, assistant superintendent for general administration, provided an update on the number of covid-19 cases . Click here. Among other benefits of the vaccine, having your child vaccinated against COVID-19 reduces the risk of your child developing COVID-19 by 90%. She said she believes school systems should authorize a bonus if funds are available, but added, I feel systems should increase employees salaries instead of offering bonuses.. Monitoring & Reporting COVID-19 in Schools School nurses should continue to report school COVID-19 outbreaks and outbreaks of any kind using the Communicable Disease Report Card and selecting Outbreak as the Reportable Disease/Health Condition. But while Baldwin County Schools is being praised for the second round of the bonuses, representatives with the Alabama Education Association representing public school employees in Alabama are pushing for the school system to join others in the state in offering up to 10 additional days of extended COVID-19 leave or sick pay. 2J(I\%r|Q,|o|Wn=M]=~k}&EH|)g' And to make matters worse, the grace and mercy many practiced in 2020 when the pandemic was new seems to have evaporated.. COVID-19 Documents & Resources for Parents. The state asks schools to report COVID cases on Tuesdays. You can be tested for COVID-19 at the following locations: Baldwin County Central Annex Address: 22251 Palmer St., Robertsdale, AL 36567 Testing offered onsite Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. North Baldwin Rural Health Center Address: 312 Courthouse Sq., Bay Minette, AL 36507 Phone: 251-690-8889 North Baldwin Family Health Center or sex in its employment practices, student programs and dealings with the public. N-95 masks remain the most effective mask at reducing transmission of respiratory droplets. In states like Mississippi, where case rates are among the highest in the country and many students lack access to home internet and devices, the situation is particularly fraught. It is important to reduce the risk of children developing communicable diseases, including influenza and COVID-19, as previously healthy children can become very ill, require hospitalizations, and die from both these illnesses. Others are adjusting expectations. The community level of Covid-19 in Baldwin County is low based on cases and hospitalizations, . Join them to stay in the know with our free weekly newsletter. Susan Hassig, an epidemiologist at Tulane University, said that quarantining should be relatively rare at schools following the CDCs guidance, which also includes universal masking. hbbd``b`@`$Xk%",A38 School testing gives communities, schools, and families added assurance that schools can open and remain open safely for all students. If that trend continues, the superintendent said that she may recommend that students and staff wear masks inside schools rather than require them after the Thanksgiving break. The BCSD COVID-19 Weekly Status Report will summarize the new positive cases each week within the student population who are attending school in-person as well as in the population of staff members who are working in-person at our schools or in the district office. NO EXTRA POCKETS 2. (The CDC recommends that quarantines last seven to 14 days.). Orange County, Florida a large district centered around Orlando where a small number of students have already quarantined is taking another common approach: treating quarantines like regular sick days, despite the fact that students might miss longer stretches. Were like: Dont start your year with a quarantine.. "We have several students who have tested positive due to outside exposure, but enough that we feel it necessary to take this precaution instead of shutting down the building," Hughes said. She said she felt that Baldwin County School leaders were reviewing the logistics of providing the leave to employees. 244 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<13DB77E66C52864888D98D04C0E3424C>]/Index[232 23]/Info 231 0 R/Length 70/Prev 19548/Root 233 0 R/Size 255/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. See a showcase of all DHS webinars for local public health and school stakeholders. COVID-19 Infection Control and Mitigation Measures for Wisconsin Schools 2022/2023. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. There were 15 total cases (14 students, one staff) the first week of November, but the second week, Nov. 8-12, there were no positives reported among the over 5,300 combined Baldwin County students and employees. With the emergence of Omicron, the incubation period for COVID-19 appears to be shorter, around 3-5 days after exposure, but at least a third of people may remain contagious up to 10 days. 232 0 obj <> endobj **Please remember this applies only to COVID-19 and not to other communicable diseases. The districts fully virtual option is set up as its own school, so its not open to in-person students quarantining. In addition, the same hospital is the site where a refrigerated trailer was placed a little more than a week ago to serve as a makeshift morgue if needed. Published: Sep. 03, 2021, 4:38 p.m. 21. But officials have yet to say whether unvaccinated students who are exposed will be required to stay home once school starts in September, and what kind of instruction theyll get if they do. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has provides critical information on policy, practice, and messaging for school districts to use while navigating the many factors necessary to carry out safe in-person learning. The downward trend in COVID-19 cases may create a change in the Baldwin County School District's (BCSD) masking policy in the coming weeks. The emergency leave policy will expire June 30, 2022, Hill said. Tyler, in a statement to AL.com, said the district is examining the sick leave requirement with encouraging vaccinations among hesitant employees. I do not like wearing them. During COVID, we established a policy with a 10-day mandatory absence. We havent discussed additional bonuses, but I can see an opportunity for consideration should this school year continue to be as tough as it is now, said Moore. We hope to have further details at our next board meeting (later this month).. We're offering a great rate on digital subscriptions. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. She found other schools requiring masks for children under 12, and the county has since issued an order requiring masks for students in all types of schools. Since last week,122 students at the school have been in quarantine, according to the release. If a bonus is offered, Id never suggest anyone to decline the offer, said Elfriede Marsh, the AEA Uniserv District director who represents nine school systems in the Wiregrass. Case numbers there jumped once the fall semester began, but have also settled into the singly digits weekly without a mask mandate in place since classes resumed in August. hmo0_n/R ~@*%]MZiIU_%H"p@BhD|oq2T54&2mC#fm&C`BBC2 *`R`7|>n3iGybb[/.v\-_tv?%ud$,^U,|Zn2)FZZ6 The Baldwin County School System includes 44 schools and over 31,000 students. Generally, economists will think it has a bigger impact on retention than on recruitment, Goldhaber said. Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in ECE Programs. We were just like, Thank god this is over, and then, wow were we wrong, she said. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Children ages 12 and up are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but some are requiring masking regardless of vaccination status for both faculty and students after the Centers for Disease. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. Other AEA representatives are skeptical that school boards, especially those hesitant over approving the initial round of bonuses when federal CARES Act funds were available for them, will consider another one. Tyler admits its been a close call on several occasions. Students line up before classes at Middletown High School. Ryan Hollingsworth, executive director of the School Superintendents of Alabama, said the beginning of the school year has been by far, the most challenging for everyone association with education. But others are being sent home with only paper packets or are receiving no instruction at all a worrying indication that many students could face another year of stop-and-start learning. Vaccinated people who are asymptomatic also dont need to quarantine after being exposed, the CDC says. In Baldwin County, a Back-to-School will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Thomas Fitness Center in Fairhope. In Floridas Hillsborough County, some 5,600 students or about 2.5% of the student body were in quarantine or isolation as of Monday. The mask issue comes as hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise in Alabama over the latest surge of delta variant. Without a clear strategy, swaths of students could miss out on chunks of the school year especially if they are repeatedly exposed at a time when many have already fallen behind where they normally would be academically. Timothy Tidmore, superintendent of Autauga County Schools, said his district was one of the first systems in Alabama to an extra 10 days of sick leave for any staff members who test positive until the end of the first semester, which concludes in December. Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler, in a letter to parents on Thursday, said that COVID-19 numbers have been going in the wrong direction for the districts schools to warrant rescinding a mask mandate policy that was put into place in late July. Fit can be improved by wearing a cloth mask over it. The board recognizes the challenging work environment as we move forward in providing face-to-face learning, Tyler said. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. As the number of quarantining students rises, some districts that resisted requiring masks are moving to mandate them. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Parents, students, educators, and neighbors all benefit from independent education journalism. At least 129 children in Alabama have developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of Childhood (MIS-C). At Huntsville City Schools, certified employees who complete additional professional development which are held outside of normal work hours, and occurring in three phases during the school year will get up to $1,000 extra compensation. Schools should implement the following strategies, regardless of their county's current COVID-19 community level. Deaths Above Normal The true toll of the pandemic in the U.S. In addition, full-time school employees are getting a $1,000 annual retention incentive that will be paid out in semi-annual installments at the end of December 2022 and 2023. It also didnt hurt that the bonuses were largely financed with federal money through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was approved in March 2020. In many of the conversations I am having with our educators, the absence of additional COVID leave days seem to be the biggest concern they have, said Nichole King, AEA Uniserv director for the district representing Baldwin County and Gulf Shores city schools. It took a week to receive packets of printed work for her older children. Alabama's COVID-19 Schools K-12 Dashboard Updates are . Alabama, like many states, had a teacher shortage in many disciplines before the pandemic. Less than a year later, the risks continue inside the classrooms for teachers and staff. During lunch and snack, persons should remove their masks only when eating, sanitize their hands, and resume wearing their masks after eating. Lincoln County Schools will be mask optional for the start of the 2022-23 school year, district spokeswoman Karen Dellinger told the Observer in an email. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Other options are K-N95 which are similar but have different industry standards for filtration. Other schools are not anticipating a second round of bonuses that are paid for out of local funds, though some school board members hope their administrators consider it. Sanitizing hands before removing masks, prior to putting masks back on, and after putting masks back on are important measures to further reduce any potential transmission of the virus. Case numbers never got out of control, but have still gone way down since those first few weeks of school. If this combination persists as the school year ramps up, quarantining will be common once again. A Morning Consult/Politico poll from last month showed nearly all Democrats and a majority of Independents polled support face masks, while a majority of Republicans do not. The Baldwin County School Board holds a public hearing into the school district's COVID-19 protocols including a mask mandate on Thursday, August 19, 2021, in Loxley, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com). Language assistance is available. At the same time, only 5.2% of children ages 12-17 are fully vaccinated in Alabama, and Fisher said he is worried it will. The Baldwin County School System, the states third largest, became the first known district in Alabama to dip into its local funds and spend $2.3 million for a second round of bonuses to teachers and staff. Revised COVID-19 K-12 School Surveillance Guidance for Identification and Classification of Outbreaks. To ensure our parents, staff and community members are provided with the most recent and accurate information, the Baldwin County School District will publish weekly COVID-19 status reports each Friday. The teams arrival to Baldwin County marked the first time the federal government dispatched a healthcare team to assist an Alabama hospital during the pandemic. Students at Midway Hills Primary School arrived excited to start a new year. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. A lot of discussion about types of masks is ongoing, especially with the more transmissible Omicron variant. The Baldwin County School District will continue to provide opportunities for students age 12 and older, faculty, and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The community level of Covid-19 in Baldwin County is low based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent update from the C.D.C. I will monitor the spread and make sure we are moderate, Price told the school board. Baldwin County: Masks are required for . which gave out $350 in bonus pay late last year. The BCSD COVID-19 Weekly Status Report will summarize the new positive cases each week within the student . The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is the lead agency for the COVID-19 vaccination initiative. In August, 2022, DPI published updated guidance for K-12 schools, titled COVID-19 Infection Control and Mitigation Measures for Wisconsin Schools 2022/2023. Schools might need to require masking in settings such as classrooms or during activities to protect students with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions that increase their risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 in accordance with applicable federal, state, or local laws and policies. Find help with housing, income, food, employment, health care, mental health concerns, safety at home, and morein multiple languages. Padgett says her children didnt have the option to do lessons online and werent given hotspots or laptops, though other schools in their Mississippi district transitioned to virtual learning. Chalk greetings on the sidewalk in front of the school. The school decisions come as 72 of Michigan's counties are at a high transmission level for Covid-19, which means that most residents are urged under federal guidelines to wear masks in public, according tothe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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