From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City School system is preparing for coronavirus by sending information to parents and by conducting a survey to determine what homes will need help accessing the internet in case of a school closure.
Superintendent Dr. Pattie Neill issued a letter to parents Tuesday.
“As your Superintendent of Schools, I would like to assure you that the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff are our first priorities,” the letter stated.
TCS will follow guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Alabama State Department of Education and the Jefferson County Health Department.
Neill shared the following updates and notes in the letter.
Here is what Trussville Parents can do?
- A parent survey will be sent next week to gather data about home Internet and device access so we can prepare for a library checkout of TCS technology for those who do not have internet and devices at home. The survey will give us a count of households who will need our assistance for classroom internet access in the case of long term school closures.
- If you have been out of the country or if you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days, contact your healthcare provider and tell them about your exposure.
- Talk with your children about the preventative practices for any illness. Together, we can ensure the safest school environment possible for our students, faculty and staff.
From the Alabama Department of Public Health and Association of School Nurses:
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) virus, and we are learning more about it every day. There is currently no vaccine to protect against COVID-19. At this point, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes it. Stopping transmission (spread) of the virus through everyday practices is the best way to keep people healthy.
Everyday preventative practices include:
- Stay home when sick.
- Students and staff who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are asked to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever, signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants).
- Seek immediate medical care if symptoms become severe, such as high fever or difficulty breathing.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces often especially when someone in the household is ill.
- Cover cough with a tissue or sleeve.
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, Use an alcohol based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching face, eyes, ears, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.Germs spread this way.
Trussville City Schools will also continue to use the new disinfectant sprayers on a regular basis in our classrooms.
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From CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Guidance for schools which do not have COVID-19 identified in their community
To prepare for possible community transmission of COVID-19, the most important thing for schools to do now is plan and prepare. As the global outbreak evolves, schools should prepare for the possibility of community-level outbreaks. Schools want to be ready if COVID-19 does appear in their communities.
- Disseminate common-sense preventive actions for students and staff. For example, emphasize actions such as staying home when sick; appropriately covering coughs and sneezes; cleaning frequently touched surfaces; and washing hands often.Ensure handwashing strategies include washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
Establish procedures for students and staff who are sick at school such as:
- Establish procedures to ensure students and staff who become sick at school or arrive at school sick are sent home as soon as possible.
- Keep sick students and staff separate from well students and staff until they can leave.
- Let parents know that schools are not expected to screen students or staff to identify cases of COVID-19. The majority of respiratory illnesses are not COVID-19. If a community (or more specifically, a school) has cases of COVID-19, local health officials will help identify those individuals and will follow up on next steps.
Perform routine environmental cleaning.
- Routinely clean frequently touched surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, light switches, countertops) with the cleaners typically used. Use all cleaning products according to the directions on the label. TCS has a new disinfectant spray solution to do this.
Create communications plans for use with the school community.
- Include strategies for sharing information with staff, students, and their families.
- TCS will continue to use In the Loop, Remind 101, TCS phone messaging system, emails, text, media messaging and website banners for important action updates, as needed, if schools are delayed or closed.
In the event of School Closings:
If TCS schools experience an outbreak and it is necessary to close schools, eLearning will occur. Classroom instruction will continue with the use of technology resources such as Google Classroom, video instruction using Screencastify, Google tools, and various additional online academic resources.
TCS is equipped for these possibilities through our experience with eLearning. Students will access learning through Google Classroom at home using personal devices or chromebooks checked out from the school. Support will be given to students and parents to access resources by teachers and the technology team as needed. Our nurses, administrators, health and safety personnel, and I will continue to monitor the guidelines issued for public facilities. Preventative practices for COVID-19 are the same as for the common cold or flu.