Dear Families,
The health and safety of our students and staff is of course one of our top priorities. With the ongoing situation regarding the coronavirus, we would like to issue this statement to reassure families of students what we are doing to prepare.
At the time of posting, there has been no cases in the county in which our district lies. Nonetheless, we have been in coordination with the state department of health, and are continuing to monitor the situation. It is likely inevitable that a case will occur within the county. As such, we are stressing the following measures recommended by the CDC to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (and other infections):
- Hand washing. Using soap and water on a regular basis kills germs. If soap and water is not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a suitable alternative.
- Contain sneezing & coughing. Students are reminded to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. We have previously recommended coughing or sneezing into your elbow, and continue to do so. Using a tissue is also a suitable alternative, provided it is disposed of properly.
- Avoid touching of the face. Infections tend to spread when germs that have been picked up on the hands are brought to the face, specifically the eyes, nose or mouth. While not always possible to avoid, we advise students to avoid doing so as much as possible.
- Avoid sick individuals. We advise students that are sick to stay home, and if they do not stay home, to keep an appropriate distance and follow the above practices to help prevent others from getting sick
The WPCS maintenance and janitorial team already does their best to clean and disinfect areas that are commonly touched throughout the day. During periods of heightened sickness, these efforts are doubled to prevent spread of illness. This holds true for the COVID-19 situation, and we are reviewing our procedures in this area for anything that can be done to increase these measures further.
We cannot stress this further: if students are sick, please keep them home. Students should be symptom free for at least 24 hours before returning. Absences for illnesses are always excused unless the student has accumulated excessive absences, in which case a doctors note is required.
As the situation continues to evolve, the WPCS school board and administration will monitor the situation and determine if any changes from normal operations are required. Should changes arise, we will communicate this immediately.
Eddie Cardona
Superintendent