December 20, 2021
Dear Springfield Public Schools Community:
I’m writing this letter to share information about how the district is responding to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases throughout the state.
Today, the district has received notification of 2 cases at Edward V. Walton Early Childhood Center, 5 cases at James Caldwell Elementary School, 3 cases at Thelma L. Sandmeier Elementary School, 6 cases at Florence M. Gaudineer Middle School (FMG), and 17 cases at Jonathan Dayton High School (JDHS).
In an abundance of caution, and based on contact tracing efforts, we have suspended extracurricular activities for the remainder of the week at FMG and JDHS. Please note that this is not impacting before-or after-care at the elementary levels.
As of this evening, all of our schools will be open for in-person instruction tomorrow, Tuesday, December 21, 2021. At the same time, we have encouraged teachers to be prepared to utilize virtual instruction for increases in numbers of students who are quarantined and to be prepared in the event a school or the district is required to shift to remote instruction based on guidance from the health department.
We have received a number of questions regarding our return from Winter Break on January 3, 2022. Similar to our current status, we are encouraging our staff and families to be prepared in the event that one or more of our schools will have to return to virtual instruction, but as of now, we have no immediate plans to do so. We will remain in contact with the local health department as we prepare to welcome students back.
Our ability to make the appropriate and timely decisions are dependent upon families providing the most accurate information. If your child has tested positive or is identified as a close contact outside of school, please make every effort to share that information with your child’s school nurse and principal.
It remains critical that individuals with symptoms (headaches, runny nose, sore throat, persistent cough, stomach upset, loss of taste and/or smell) reach out to a healthcare provider to access a COVID test, and refrain from returning to school until the results of the test are received.
We continue to be committed to providing a safe environment for our staff and our students and will provide additional updates based on the most up-to-date information.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Happy Holidays,
Rachel Goldberg