Superintendent Update 8/31/2020
As we open today with the All Students In Person Model at the Elementary (PreK-5) and the Hybrid Model at the Secondary (Grades 6-12) on August 31 a quick update on the numbers. Last week when my message went out, Stearns County number was 9.88. This past Thursday the number was 9.95, trending upward. There is speculation by Stearns County Public Health this number could be over 20 this coming week. Starting in the models listed at the start of the paragraph may allow us to stay consistent with these models at least for a couple of weeks. This will be our expectation to not have to switch models every week. It is our hope to stay in a model at least two weeks before we make a switch. We will do this by carefully monitoring the numbers and working with our local Incident Command Team and our Regional Support team at the county level.
So far today I have spent a lot of time outside when the buses dropped off students this morning and a lot of time out in the hallways. Overall, the first day has gone very well even though this message is being posted before the end of the day. When we started out this morning, our thermal cameras did not pick up any student or staff member with a fever. Please continue to monitor your child before they come to school each morning. If they have any type of fever or don’t feel well with some of the common symptoms associated with COVID-19, please keep them home until the symptoms subside and on your call as a parent, get them tested for COVID-19.
We have also had very few issues this morning with masks. I believe by now most students understand this a common practice in society and understand the importance of using masks in a school setting. Usage of masks and all of the other mitigating factors we have in place will allow us to continue educating our students in our schools.
Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this planning and implementation process. There are many schools in the state pushing back the start of their school year for a myriad of reasons. I feel comfortable where we are at during our start up but I know we will be able to continue to improve as we get started. It is great to see the students back in our building!
If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me or any of the building principals.
Greg Winter, Superintendent: gwinter@isd740.org
Chad Doetkott, High School Principal cdoetkott@isd740.org
Robert Anderson, Middle School Principal randerson@isd740.org
Terryl Pearson, Elementary School Principal tpearson@isd740.org