Dear students, staff, families and community,
Blaine School District staff have worked tirelessly to navigate this week, with an unprecedented number of absences for both students and staff. The Blaine School District is part of a larger community that is experiencing an increase of infections. In times like these there are impacts to classrooms, buildings, and the district as a whole. In some instances, individual classrooms or cohorts of students may need to temporarily move to remote learning, and we will communicate directly with any impacted individuals should that occur. .
We are also working to review and implement new guidance for schools that was released this week. The school guidelines are close to the CDC guidelines released with some school specific indicators. For many students and staff the new guidelines will allow them to return to school sooner than previously allowed, while following the non-pharmaceutical interventions in place in schools. While we continue to operationalize the new guidance, if you have questions please contact your student’s campus and their COVID team.
As schools transition to new guidelines it is imperative that students with symptoms remain at home, and communicate with their teacher, and school office. We want to remind everyone that any student or staff member who has been symptomatic needs a negative PCR test to return to work or school. (If you are uncertain if this applies to you, please stay home and seek clarification from your student's campus COVID team.) PCR testing is available for students and staff every school day from 10:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., on the north side of the middle school gym, across H Street from the Boys and Girls Club. Please enter the lot from Mitchell Ave. and proceed north around the gym. If you end up in that line for testing, please take a minute to say thank you to our nursing staff who are working so hard to provide this service.
This week our CEE Survey will be available online, and we hope our families will take the time to complete it. We utilize this information as part of our overall process of continual improvement.
EES-Family Survey Link: Blaine SD
Don’t forget Monday, January 17th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and there is no school. It’s a great night to be a Borderite, and, as always, a great night to be your superintendent.
Sincerely,
Dr. Christopher Granger
Every Student. Every Day. In a New Way!