Sunday, January 2, 2022
Dear Springfield Public Schools Community:
Happy New Year! We have been closely monitoring the guidance provided by the New Jersey Department of Education and identifying the best ways to document positive cases of COVID in our district.
First, please use the “COVID-19 Health Status Form” to report a child’s absence due to COVID-19 symptoms or positive cases. If you call the school to report the absence, you will also be directed to this form, so that we can adequately track the number of positive cases and the appropriate return dates. This information is critical to our decision making and monitoring process, and we appreciate your cooperation. If your child will be absent from school due to COVID symptoms or a positive test, we also encourage you to email your child’s principal. We also ask for your patience and understanding in our first day back to school as we return to instruction.
Second, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) notified districts that the revised quarantine/isolation timelines have not been applied to “specialized settings” including schools.
The notification directs school districts to “continue to follow current posted CDC/NJDOH setting-specific guidance/recommendations accordingly. Once the CDC updates guidance for these settings, the NJDOH will update State guidance/recommendations accordingly.”
Therefore, this is a reminder that the NJDOH isolation/quarantine period of 10 days, or 7 days with a negative COVID test on Day 5-7, remains in place for our district. The NJDOH expects updated guidance from the CDC, and we will work to revise our protocols when we have been given the approval to do so.
In addition, we highly encourage families to get their children tested before their return to school. In order to keep our schools open, it is critical that children reporting any symptoms (sore throat, nausea, cough, fatigue, headache, congestion) are kept home for observation and testing.
Finally, as noted in the letter shared on December 30, 2021, we are closely monitoring our data, and in close contact with our health department. We will continue to provide updates about the status of our schools.
Sincerely,
Rachel Goldberg & Springfield Public Schools