Sep 20
25
Seward Elementary shifts to 100% Remote Learning on 9/28/20 and 9/29/20
September 25, 2020
Communication to Seward Elementary staff and families. Principal Haskins will send a message via School Messenger on Saturday, September 26, 2020.
Dear Seward Elementary students, parents, and staff,
Friday evening September 25, 2020, we learned a second student or staff member at Seward Elementary School has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and as members of the school community, we understand that this raises care and concerns.
To complete contact tracing and allow for additional cleaning, the entire school will shift to 100% Remote Learning September 28 and 29, 2020.
Throughout the weekend we will work with public health to assess any interactions in the time period the person was connected with school, and everyone who is determined to be a close contact will be called personally.
9/25/20, 10:30 PM: The shift to 100% Remote Learning is only for Seward Elementary at this time.
Two or more positive cases in a school is defined as an outbreak. Each case of COVID-19 is interviewed by public health, and our team.
We will be in communication with you with further information as it becomes available, and announce late Monday, or Tuesday morning, if we will reopen on Wednesday, or extend the 100% Remote Learning.
As part of this public health investigation and contact tracing at school, and based on CDC guidance and Alaska DHSS protocols:
- Everyone diagnosed with COVID-19 is kept home from school until they are no longer infectious.
- The person’s activities when they could have spread COVID-19 will be assessed.
- The people who were close contacts of the person with COVID-19 are instructed to stay home from school for 14 days after the exposure. This is called quarantine and there is no way to test out of a 14-day quarantine when someone is identified as a close contact.
KPBSD honors HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws, so the identity of a student or employee will not be revealed by the school or KPBSD, unless permission is given to do so.
If you have questions, kindly contact Principal Alan Haskins, or our public health agency at 907-335-3400.
You can find specific information for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on our dedicated COVID-19 in KPBSD Hub webpage that includes communication updates, safety protocols, 2020 Smart Start Plan, sports and activities, risk levels on the Kenai Peninsula, and the COVID19 Confirmed Case in School Response Matrix.
Seward High School sporting events are cancelled on Saturday, September 26, 2020.
“Friday evening we learned that Seward Elementary has had more than one confirmed case of COVID-19 within a three day time frame. This is defined as an outbreak in a school, causes a shift to 100% remote learning at Seward Elementary for at least Monday and Tuesday next week, in an effort to ensure thorough contact tracing and cleaning of the school will be conducted. Given the small size of the Seward community and out of an abundance of precaution, this weekend’s sporting events in Seward have been cancelled and Seward teams that were scheduled to travel and compete in away events have been kept home. I know our athletes will be disappointed, and I ask for everyone’s support and understanding.”
–Superintendent John O’Brien
