October 21, 2020

USD 232 Families:

We are writing to make you aware of updated guidance from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment regarding COVID-19 testing should your student need a test to return to school/activities.

Moving forward, the health department no longer recommends accepting rapid antigen tests for re-entry to school if an individual is symptomatic. They may be useful as an initial data point, but because antigen tests may not detect lower levels of the virus, false negatives are a concern. A rapid antigen test should be followed by a confirmatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to make a final diagnosis. The individual will need a confirmatory PCR test, a physician’s alternate diagnosis, or wait ten (10) days from symptom onset before returning to school. Symptomatic individuals are encouraged to get a PCR test, but testing is voluntary.

Families can access free PCR tests at the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment in Olathe, no appointment necessary with a referral card from your school’s nurse. See attached flyer for more information.

The school district, beginning November 2, will have a limited supply of saliva (PCR) tests kits available for students and staff who are symptomatic. These free test kits are from the county health department and will be available when students or staff present COVID-19 symptoms at school. Communication with families will come from our school nurses if a saliva test kit is available.

Note: If you do get tested, you are encouraged to self-quarantine/isolate at home pending test results and follow the advice of your health care provider or a public health professional. The county health department will provide guidance regarding your test result. 

If you test positive, know what protective steps to take to prevent others from getting sick. If you test negative, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing. Continue to take steps to protect yourself.

Testing out of quarantine is not an option. The virus can take up to 14 days to incubate in the body, which is why people who have been exposed are asked to quarantine for the recommended time. Negative tests conducted during this time period could be taken too early for the viral load to be high enough to register a positive result.

COVID-19 Symptoms
Symptoms include, but not limited to, fever, cough, loss of smell and/or taste, chills, fatigue, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, muscle aches, chest pain, headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, sore throat, and runny nose.

For current information and facts regarding COVID-19 in Kansas, refer to KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/ or the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment website at https://www.jocogov.org/coronavirus-covid-19-update.

USD 232 Administration

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October 8, 2020

Hybrid Schedule for Secondary Schools

The school district published the Hybrid Schedule for the remainder of October through Friday, November 20. 

Please note, at the request of some parents the hybrid schedule was posted to assist families in planning work and family schedules. Should the school district remain in the hybrid learning environment, this will be the schedule the district follows. This schedule does not impact Optional Remote students. Please direct specific questions to your school.

Schedule Key

• A Day = Blue
• B Day = Green
• C Day = Purple (remote day for students)

September 29, 2020

USD 232 Staff and Families:

The Board of Education took action during a special meeting on Monday, September 28, to shift elementary students, grades Pre-K through 5, to On-Site Learning effective Thursday, October 8. This decision aligns to current public health guidelines within the parameters of the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria.

Secondary students, grades 6 through 12, will remain in the Hybrid Learning Environment at this time.

Beginning Thursday, October 8, all elementary students will return to full time on-site learning five days each week. This decision does not affect students who are in the parent-choice optional remote learning model.

Elementary schools will communicate more information with families prior to October 8. Elementary schools will follow the normal calendar.

Background
At the direction of the Board of Education, the district formed a COVID Advisory Committee to make recommendations on school gating criteria to assist the Board in making decisions about future learning environments for students. The committee will only make recommendations to the Board about the categories within the gating criteria.

Dr. Frank Harwood, Superintendent of Schools, presented a report to the Board on September 28 regarding the committee’s recommendation that the district is currently in the Yellow category of the Board-approved Kansas Schools Gating Criteria for COVID-19. A copy of the presentation is available for viewing on the district’s website. The Board took action on Monday, Sept. 28, to accept the committee’s recommendation.

The committee met on Thursday, September 24 and reviewed the most localized data available relating to student absenteeism, two-week county percent positive case rate, two-week cumulative county incidence rate, trend in county incidence rate, and local hospital capacity. Discussions also acknowledged the importance of student and staff mental health and overall wellbeing.  

Superintendent Harwood shared with the Board that the COVID Advisory Committee will meet every two to three weeks as needed, or two to three weeks following a change in the learning environment. The committee in future meetings will consider weighting of various metrics, monitor the spread of COVID-19 in schools, and monitor the effectiveness of current mitigation protocols.

COVID Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee is made up of 17 individuals to consider data in relation to the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria. The makeup of the committee is as follows:

• Five parents/patrons from across the district;
• Five staff members (an elementary teacher, a secondary teacher, one member each of the health services, district mental health and human resources team);
• Three outside experts (a public health professional, a medical professional, and a mental health professional); and
• Four ex officio members (three Board of Education members and superintendent).

Superintendent Frank Harwood serves as Advisory Committee Chair.

We sincerely appreciate our families and staff during this challenging time.

USD 232 Administration

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September 25, 2020

USD 232 Staff and Families:

At the direction of the Board of Education, the superintendent formed a COVID Advisory Committee to make recommendations on COVID-19 school gating criteria to assist the Board in making decisions about future learning environments for students.

The committee met on Thursday, September 24, and agreed that the primary objective for the district is to get students back to full in-person learning as quickly and safely as possible. The committee reviewed the most localized data available relating to the five data points of the Board-approved Kansas Schools Gating Criteria for COVID-19. The data included student absenteeism, two-week county percent positive case rate, two-week cumulative county incidence rate, trend in county incidence rate, and local hospital capacity. Discussions also acknowledged the importance of student and staff mental health and overall wellbeing.

Recommendation
After reviewing the data and deep discussion, the committee reached consensus to recommend that the district is currently in the Yellow category of the gating criteria. A detailed report will be presented to the Board of Education at a special meeting scheduled for Monday, September 28.

The Board will consider the committee’s recommendation and then decide whether to change the learning environment for students.

Comments to Board of Education
Parents who desire to submit comments to the Board of Education may do so electronically in advance of the meeting. > Submit Comments to the Board by noon on Monday, Sept. 28.

The meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. on Monday at the Board of Education and will be livestreamed.
> https://bit.ly/usd232youtube. Seating will be limited to allow for appropriate social distancing.

COVID Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee is made up of 17 individuals to consider data in relation to the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria. The makeup of the committee is as follows:

• Five parents/patrons from across the district;
• Five staff members (an elementary teacher, a secondary teacher, one member each of the health services, district mental health and human resources team);
• Three outside experts (a public health professional, a medical professional, and a mental health professional); and
• Four ex officio members (three Board of Education members and superintendent).

Superintendent Frank Harwood serves as Advisory Committee chair.

Timeline for possible change in learning environment
Currently, the school district is operating within the Hybrid Learning Environment for grades K-12. Should the Board of Education approve a change in the learning environment for elementary and/or secondary students, then it could take effect on Thursday, October 8. Any change in learning environment will be for students who are enrolled in the On-Site Learning Model. Families will receive additional information on Tuesday, September 29.

We sincerely appreciate our families and staff during this challenging time.

USD 232 Administration

September 18, 2020

The school district published the Hybrid Schedule for the month of October through Wednesday, Oct. 21. Please note, at the request of some parents the hybrid schedule was posted to assist families with planning work and family schedules. Should the school district remain in the hybrid learning environment, this will be the schedule the district follows. This schedule does not impact Optional Remote students. Please direct specific questions to your school.

If the hybrid learning environment extends beyond Oct. 21, an updated schedule will be sure to balance on-site class time for the A/B groups. 

Schedule Key

• A Day = Blue
• B Day = Green
• C Day = Purple (remote day for students)

> Printable Hybrid Calendar through Oct. 21, 2020

September 16, 2020

USD 232 launched its COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The data represents the number of positive or presumed positive COVID-19 cases in district schools and buildings as officially confirmed by Johnson County Department of Health and Environment that may have posed a risk of exposure at school.

The data is from the start of school on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 and is current as of 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16, 2020. The dashboard will be updated every Wednesday afternoon.

> Link to the dashboard

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September 15, 2020

USD 232 Families –
The Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening, September 14. One of the topics on the agenda focused on the formation of a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to provide recommendations regarding future learning environments for students. 

The Board will schedule a special meeting for Monday, September 28. Meeting time and location to be announced. A detailed report and recommendation will be presented to the Board during the special meeting. The report from the Advisory Committee will be public information.

The Advisory Committee will have 17 individuals to consider the various data sets within the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria. The makeup of the committee will be as follows:

• Five parents/patrons from across the district;
• Five staff members (an elementary teacher, a secondary teacher, one member each of the health services, district mental health and human resources team);
• Three outside experts (a public health professional, a medical professional, and a mental health professional); and
• Four ex officio members (three Board of Education members, Superintendent).

Superintendent Frank Harwood will serve as Advisory Committee chair.

Timeline for possible change in learning environment 
Currently, the school district is operating within the Hybrid Learning Environment for grades K-12. If the Advisory Committee makes a recommendation to change the learning environment and the Board of Education approves the recommendation, then a change could take effect on Wednesday, October 7.  

Based on the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria, it is possible that the Board of Education could consider full in-person learning for elementary students. This is assuming the data within the gating criteria keeps the school district within the yellow category. Any change in learning environment will be for students who are enrolled in the On-Site Learning Model. Families and staff will receive additional information following the meeting on September 28.

We sincerely appreciate your support during this challenging time. More information will be shared later this month.

--end message--

The Board of Education decided to begin the school year in the Hybrid Learning Environment. Schools will use the following schedule for September. It assumes the basic split for students with last names A-K (A Day) and L-Z (B Day). It is likely some students may need to be moved to one group or the other. This information will be communicated by your chid's school. This schedule does not impact Optional Remote students. Please direct specific questions to your school.

Schedule Key

• A Day = Blue
• B Day = Green
• C Day = Purple (remote day for students)

1. The Board specifically omitted school activities from the gating criteria. Activities will continue following guidance from the Kansas State High School Activities Association and any other health regulations or health orders that may be in place.
2. The Board selected the yellow category to begin the 2020-21 school year. Based on the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria yellow category, students in grades K-12 will be in the hybrid learning environment.
3. The Board directed the administration to create a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to meet on a regular basis to assist the Board of Education in determining the most appropriate risk zone within the Kansas Schools Gating Criteria for school decisions.

August 19, 2020

The Board of Education announed Wednesday, Aug. 19, that it will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, Aug. 24, at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the JOCO Gating Criteria for the Coming Back Together Plan for schools.

To learn more about the meeting location, get livestream information, and how to submit comments to the Board, visit the Board of Education webpage.

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August 18, 2020

USD 232 Families:

The superintendents for the six Johnson County public schools met Tuesday, Aug. 18, with Johnson County public health officials to review the most recent science and data regarding the spread of COVID-19 infections with the county.

Based on this latest data, USD 232 will begin school on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in the remote learning environment. The level of transmission of COVID-19 in the county is high. This decision does not impact the students who have already selected our optional remote learning model.

About the Decision
In order to open schools safely for in-person instruction, the community transmission should be moderate or low. Currently our community transmission continues to increase although the case trends are considered steady with the positivity rate at 11.4 percent. Unfortunately, Johnson County has not met the threshold in the school gating criteria for a safe return to in-person learning, even under a hybrid model.

Consistent with the gating criteria released earlier and based on the number of new infections and the trajectory of the positivity rate, Johnson County is in the Red zone.  

>> Video message from Dr. Frank Harwood, Superintendent of Schools

Timeline
Our decision to begin school remotely will be reassessed after classes begin within the first few weeks. Specific information for your student will be coming from your child’s school in the near future. As we have shared with families previously, we will continue to evaluate our plans as new information becomes available.

The Data
There are many ways to look at and present the data. The Johnson County school gating criteria has been based on two data points: a 14-day moving average of positivity rate and a number of average new cases per day. A third data point was added, which is the rate of new cases per 100,000 residents. 

The county averaged 106 cases per day last week (total of 740 new infections) and 90 cases per day the preceding week (total of 629 new infections).

The 740 new infections from last week represents a rate of 120 new cases per 100,000 residents. The 629 new infections from the previous week represents a rate of 102 new cases per 100,000 residents. All this information is available at the Johnson County COVID-19 Dashboard.

No matter how the data is presented, the level of transmission of COVID-19 in the county is too high for our students and staff to safely return to the in-person or hybrid learning models.

Gating Criteria
The USD 232 Board of Education in August adopted specific gating criteria to help us reduce and manage risks to district families, teachers, staff and the community as a whole during the COVID-19 pandemic. These science-based, data-driven criteria were developed by Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE), in collaboration with Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

USD 232 is choosing to be more cautious with its elementary student on-site capacity than the JCDHE gating criteria recommended.  Elementary will be in the same learning environment as the Secondary level. We made this recommendation to more effectively implement all the changes that are required to mitigate the spread of the virus; along with all the unknowns about the impacts COVID-19 in young children and how the virus spreads in schools.

If we want to lower the risk for schools, the time to act is now. We need to work to lower the level of transmission in the community. The community must continue to work hard as a collective whole. Please continue social distancing, avoid large crowds, stay away from house parties and wear masks.

We thank you for your patience during this challenging time.

>> Video message from Dr. Frank Harwood, Superintendent of Schools

USD 232 Administration

>>USD 232 comenzará la escuela el martes, 8 de septiembre, en entorno de aprendizaje remoto(distancia)

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August 6, 2020

USD 232 Families:
We are looking forward to the 2020-21 school year and wish we could be starting under different circumstances. To assist parents in making the best possible choice for their children, we are providing two options for Learning Models.

It is time to make the selection for each student in your family through Skyward Family Access. Please make your selection by the end of the day, Tuesday, August 11.

> Read more.

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July 28, 2020

Welcome to our community! We look forward to greeting you and your children as we prepare for the 2020-21 school year.

We know many of you may have lots of questions about enrollment and registration, as well as what our school year will look like in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. You are important to us and we want to get you connected with our schools.

By this point in the year, we are usually in touch with our new families. Things will start picking up over the next few days!

New Enrollment Dates Announced 
We identified Monday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 11 as our new enrollment dates for the 2020-21 school year. We will share more information with families about enrollment on August 4.

First Day of School, Sept. 8
The first day of school will now be Tuesday, September 8. We are working on a revised school year calendar to be considered by our Board of Education. We hope to share a new calendar with families on August 4. 

Current Learning Plan
We are calling our learning plan Coming Back Together. You can view a summary and the full document on our webpage. > https://www.usd232.org/Page/8382

Family/School Communication 
Our school team members are looking forward to connecting with you. They will be back in the office the week of August 3. 

School Directory > https://www.usd232.org/Domain/2604

Not sure which school your child will attend? 
Our school attendance areas are based on your home address. If you are not sure which school serves your location, use our free School Locator App. Type in any address in Johnson County, KS and it will show you the schools serving that specific location. https://www.usd232.org/schoollocator 

Keep Up with District News 
As circumstances surrounding the pandemic continue to evolve, we want to keep you informed about potential impacts on school. We created a special webpage where we are posting timely information to keep you advised. > www.usd232.org/covid19

We will always keep our webpage updated, as well as our official USD 232 Twitter page @usd_232. 

Once you and your family are enrolled in school, you’ll automatically begin receiving official email communication from your school and the school district through Skyward Family Access.

If you want to receive school district email temporarily until you have an account with Skyward Family Access, just let us know. Contact us at information@usd232.org.

July 27, 2020

USD 232 Families:

The Board of Education took action during a special meeting on Monday, July 27, to delay the start of the 2020-21 school year until Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

It is important to emphasize the Board only decided the date for the first day of school. District administration is developing options for a revised school year calendar to be considered by the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting on August 3. Additionally, the Board did not make a decision on July 27 regarding the type of learning environment (on-site, hybrid, or remote) with which to begin the new academic year. Discussion on that topic will continue at the meeting on August 3.

Background
The Board of Education and administration heard from many parents and staff members over the last several days regarding the start of the school year expressing support for a delayed start, as well as support for keeping the current calendar in place. Parents and staff also expressed thoughts and concerns regarding the on-site, hybrid, and remote learning environments.

On Monday, July 20, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced an executive order (No. 20-58) that would have delayed the school year for all districts in the state. On Wednesday, July 22, the Kansas State Board of Education did not affirm the Governor’s order delaying the school year, leaving the decision to local Boards of Education. However, a separate executive order from the Governor (No. 20-59), issued on July 20, places new requirements on all schools regarding masks or other face coverings, social distancing, hand sanitizer, and temperature checks.

Delaying the first day of school allows state and county health experts additional time to update data surrounding the community spread of COVID-19. Should the county begin seeing a decrease in cases over the next few weeks, the extra time could maximize any possibility of having on-site instruction. The later start date will also provide schools and teachers time for professional development training to prepare for three learning environments and the additional requirements mandated by the Governor’s executive order.

Considering the feedback from the school community, information from state and county health experts, and in light of the additional planning required, the Board approved the district’s recommendation to delay the start of school until September 8.

New Enrollment Dates Announced
Although a revised school year calendar is still being developed, the district is announcing August 10 and 11 as enrollment dates for the new academic year. District administration will present revised calendar options to the Board of Education for its consideration at its regularly scheduled meeting on August 3. An approved calendar and additional enrollment information will be shared with families and staff on Tuesday, August 4.

Extension of Summer Curbside Meals Program
Because the first day of school is now delayed, the summer curbside meal program has been extended. Meals will continue to be available on Mondays and Wednesdays through August 26, 2020.

On Mondays, children will receive four (4) meals: 

• two (2) breakfasts and 
• two (2) lunches 

On Wednesdays, children will receive six (6) meals: 

• three (3) breakfasts and 
• three (3) lunches

Meal pick-up locations and times are listed below.

• De Soto High School –11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (main drive-thru location)
• Clearview City, De Soto – 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
• Prospector’s Point, De Soto –11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.  
• Woodland Townhomes, Shawnee– 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 m. (walk up only; no drive-thru service)

De Soto High School will serve as the main meal distribution location with drive-through service. A limited number of meals will be available at each of the mobile sites. The meals will be available for free to children ages 1 to 18, regardless of what school they attend. No paperwork is required.