October 14, 2020
Greetings, Garretson School District Parents and Guardians,
As you are likely aware, our school saw its first positive COVID-19 test result on September 28. Since that time, we have seen a number of other students in the high school test positive for the coronavirus. We have also had two positive cases in the middle school. In each of those instances, we have investigated close contacts, consulted with the SD Department of Health and notified those students who would need to quarantine as a close contact. So far, we have not had a positive case reported in our elementary student body, but we have had students quarantined as close contacts. We have had one staff member who tested positive as well, but that staff member has recovered and is back to her teaching duties. Up to this point, compared to many area schools, our Garretson school community has seen fewer cases than many surrounding schools. We know that this may change at a moment’s notice.
Our goal is to keep our kids physically coming in to school for as long as we are able to. One of the ways you, as parents and guardians, can help us with that is to be sure that you’re sending your child to school with an appropriate face covering. If your child rides the bus, please be sure that they not only have a face covering, but also that they understand that they need to have it in place on the bus. We are doing our best to communicate these expectations with our students, but your reinforcement and support of those expectations will help our students to understand the importance of consistently wearing a face covering in a group setting.
As families, we encourage you to take steps that will slow the spread of the virus in our community. Encourage hand-washing, avoid large gatherings, wear a face covering and be very mindful of appropriate physical distancing when you’re out in public.
At this time, we plan to continue with face-to-face instruction at all levels. If the District plans to make a change in our delivery format, we will communicate those changes to students and families as soon as we are able to. As we look at our next steps in mitigation of the spread of the virus, please understand that our goal continues to be keeping as many of our students learning in a face-to-face format as possible. With that goal in mind, understand that a move to distance learning may impact the entire system, or it may only impact certain grade levels.
We continue to monitor the situation closely not only in the school, but also in SD, Minnehaha County and the Garretson School District community. We know that the virus is present in our community. With that being said, we do not intend to provide daily or weekly updates with case counts in the district. We will, however, keep you all informed of any changes in our mitigation strategies or educational delivery methods. Please read all communication from the district carefully, as our situation may change at a moment’s notice. We humbly thank you all for your help, your support and your flexibility in this challenging time.
Yours in education,
Guy Johnson Superintendent
