Dear Students, Parents and Caretakers,
Beginning Tuesday, February 22, 2022, our district will be mask optional in all our buildings. We will continue to recommend and strongly encourage masks be worn. Our buses fall under federal mandates so students and staff will continue to mask while on buses.
This decision is not made lightly. My team and I based this decision on the internal number of positive/quarantined students and staff continuing to decline the past month. We will revisit this option if numbers within our district change.
We still have Temporary Remote Instruction (TRI) days available to our schools who may need to close due to COVID. If a school uses a TRI day, students and staff in that school will be required to wear masks indoors for 5 school days upon the return from TRI.
Parents who want their children to wear masks can make that choice and should simply continue sending your child to school with a mask. We are also encouraging everyone who hasn’t already been vaccinated to talk to your doctor about taking the vaccine. We will continue to encourage hand washing, have hand sanitizer available, implement extra cleaning, have masks available and social distance when possible.
We will continue to monitor the situation within our schools and communicate any changes as quickly as possible. We wanted to announce this decision in time for families to have opportunities to make their own decisions and to have discussions with their children.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve your children. If you have any questions regarding COVID, please contact your physician or the Floyd County Health Department.
Sincerely,
Anna Shepherd
Anna Shepherd, Superintendent