Dear students, staff, families and community,
The staff and students of the Blaine School District continue to persevere through the challenges this month has brought. As we have been messaging, the rising rates of COVID in our community have stressed our system to the point where we have had to make the difficult decision to move to remote learning district wide next week. (Please review our Remote Learning Plan if you have not already done so.)
I assure you that we have been meeting with campus and district leaders consistently over the last few days and reviewing our staff and student absences, and it was a unanimous recommendation to move in this direction for a short period of time. In order to provide some context to what has been a growing concern over the week, here is what has been happening:
We had 118 positive cases in the district last week and have recorded 55 positive cases so far for this week, with results complete only for tests performed through Tuesday, Jan 18th. Our case numbers nearly doubled last week and are on trend to do so again this week.
Student absences have climbed in every building to more than 20% daily, in the range of 450+ students
Staff absences have increased daily to more than 75, with more than 30% of those jobs remaining unfilled by substitutes, with impacts in every building and department
In the transition to remote learning, after school activities up through middle school will be canceled, while most high school activities will be able to continue to operate utilizing the testing protocols in place. If you have specific questions about a program or activity please contact the coach/sponsor of that activity.
At this time we are planning on returning to in-person learning for all students on Monday January 31, 2022, with a reevaluation occurring next Thursday and Friday If any changes are anticipated we will communicate them by the end of the day Friday. In order for this pause in in-person learning to have the intended result, we ask that, to the best of your ability, you help by following the recommended precautions of social distancing and mask wearing. In preparation for our return to in-person learning, please review this recent handout with a summary of the most recent COVID-19 guidance for schools.
For those students who have had an exposure to COVID or who are symptomatic, we will continue to operate our testing site Monday -Friday next week 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.
As a reminder we are also looking for parent feedback to assist in our continual improvement process. We hope our families will take the time to complete this survey.
EES-Family Survey Link: Blaine SD
I want to thank all of our faculty and staff who have continued to work diligently to make this transition to remote learning as smooth as possible for our students and families. We are committed to providing the best possible remote experience for your students. Don’t forget Monday, January 24th is a non student day. 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!