District Communications

January 5, 2022

Dear WSD Community,

Since Monday, thirty-five (35) individuals in the WSD school community have tested positive for COVID-19. Twenty (20) were in school while infectious. While this is not surprising given the rate of COVID across our state and country, we know everyone in our learning community is discouraged and disheartened. 

Due to these cases and the extensive list of people in our learning community who are considered close contacts, we have decided to close school tomorrow, Thursday, January 6, and Friday, January 7.  These will NOT be remote learning days. They will be treated like snow days and will be made up at the end of the school year.

Because COVID levels are high at the moment, please consider yourself at risk of exposure. We are not able to do individual outreach to everyone who has potentially been exposed to COVID while at school. Please consult your doctor if you have any specific concerns. Continue to monitor everyone in your household for any symptoms of COVID and follow current guidance about isolation.

Our district would like to offer Test To Stay (TTS) for students next week. This will allow students who test negative to stay in school. Please look for a message from our district tomorrow with more information about how to register for TTS if you have not already done so. 

Also, we are working on future testing and vaccination clinics and will be in touch with the details as soon as plans are firm.  Please consider registering for testing and vaccination on your own at healthvermont.gov/covid-19

Thank you,
The WSD COVID Response Team

Dear WSD Students, Families, and Staff,

We hope you are enjoying the break. We look forward to welcoming all of our students back for in-person learning on Monday, January 3. To keep everyone safe and our schools open, please remember the following:

Stay Home When Sick
Do not send your child to school if they have any COVID symptoms. For staff, do not come to work in person if you have any COVID symptoms. These include:

• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

When in doubt, call the WSD COVID-19 hotline at 802-556-2243 to discuss your symptoms with our COVID Coordinators.

Free Take-Home Kits
Consider taking advantage of free take-home rapid tests before returning to school. There will be testing kits available for Winooski students in the WSD parking lot on Thursday, December 30 from 7am-10am and then again from 3pm- 6pm. Sign up for either time slot here: https://humanresources.vermont.gov/student-test-schools. Walk-ups will be available. Read about how and when to conduct these tests efficiently.

Surveillance Testing
On Monday, January 3 our district will be offering surveillance testing. Surveillance testing is mandatory for all basketball student-athletes and is open to everyone regardless of vaccination status.

Test-to-Stay
Our district will also be ready to offer Test to Stay (TTS) if necessary. This response testing program will keep unvaccinated students who are deemed close contacts of a COVID positive person in school learning rather than missing school due to quarantine requirements. Sign up for TTS here: wsdvt.org/test-to-stay/

The COVID Vaccine
Getting vaccinated will keep you and your child safe and healthy, and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community. If we can raise our district’s vaccination rate among students to 80% it will enable us to focus our resources on other important work. All school staff should be eligible for a booster shot now as well.  Find a local clinic to get your or your child’s FREE 1st, 2nd, and booster doses!

Winter Sports
Middle School Basketball is slated to return next week. There will be no practices until January 6. This will allow all student-athletes to test and get results back from our mandatory surveillance testing. There will be no games until January 10.

Lastly, we are incredibly grateful for the dedication of our talented and caring staff, our amazing and inspiring students, and the support of the families who entrust us to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for their children each day. We wish all of you a happy, healthy new year!

See you next week!

Sincerely,
Emily Hecker, Communications Director

Hello WSD students, families, and staff,

Due to multiple cases of COVID in our learning community which has created an extensive list of possible close contacts, there will be no school on Monday for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. While we were hoping to continue with our Test-to-Stay program there are simply too many people who would require testing. All elementary students will learn remotely on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Families of elementary students should pick up learning materials at school:

• Monday afternoon between 3pm and 5pm OR
• Tuesday morning between 9am and 11am

Kindergarten – 2nd graders will receive learning packets and 3rd – 5th graders will pick up their Chromebooks.

Middle School will stay remote Monday through Wednesday. At this time, we are planning for High School and preschool to be Monday through Wednesday.

Unless symptomatic, all staff should plan to report to work in person. Expect more information via email.

Remember, continue to monitor yourself and others in your home for COVID symptoms. If you or anyone in your home experiences any symptoms, regardless of how mild, call the WSD COVID hotline at 802-556-2243.

Thank you,
The WSD COVID Response Team

Our district now offers the Test to Stay program. Asymptomatic students who have been exposed to a COVID-positive person while at school may be tested via a rapid antigen test in the morning at school. If the result is negative, the student may attend school in person.

Parents/Guardians must complete both parts below if you want your child to be part of our district’s Test to Stay program.

• A student can only participate in Test to Stay if their parent/guardian has given consent. If you would like your child to participate in the response testing, including the antigen Test to Stay program, please complete the Consent webform as soon as possible.
• Vermont will be using SimpleReport to report the results of antigen tests. This reporting system allows for parents/guardians to receive their student’s results instantly. Sign up for SimpleReport here.

Students will only participate in our TTS program IF they were exposed to a COVID+ person while at school. You will be notified if your child is considered a close contact and will be informed about the timeline for conducting Test to Stay if you would like them to continue coming to school in person. If the rapid antigen test result is positive, your child must be picked up from school right away.