January 25, 2021
Dear Families:
We learned of 5 student COVID cases today:
2 Willard
1 Alcott
2 CCHS
A number of these cases were within families or had familial connections to cases from this weekend. We completed any necessary contact tracing this afternoon.
Have a good night.
Best,
Laurie
January 24, 2021
Dear Families:
I hope you are staying warm!
New COVID Cases
This weekend, we learned of 3 COVID cases and completed all of the required contact tracing.
2 CCHS Students
1 Alcott Adult
COVID Data Dashboards
The district dashboard is posted on the webpage as of yesterday morning. With the 3 cases since then, the total since we reopened is 104.
The community dashboard as provided by DPH is also linked to the webpage. Concord and Carlisle remain in the yellow category for moderate risk.
Caller ID State Contact Tracers
If you receive a call from “MA COVID TEAM”, please be sure to answer. This is how your caller ID will show when the state contact tracers are making calls.
14 Day Quarantine
I am being asked about our choice to use the August guideline for 14-day quarantines rather than the more recent CDC and DPH guidelines which call for less. Given the high rate of the virus and the need to be extraordinarily careful in the school setting, the district is utilizing the original dates in agreement with the local health officials. This is typical for all area school districts. Thank you for your cooperation.
Asymptomatic Testing
This week, we hope to start testing asymptomatic staff who elect to participate. The state released the timeline for its program which will then allow us to start testing students. The target date from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is the week of February 8. Please watch for more details. If you haven’t responded to the survey, it is still open through this link.
Vaccine Distribution
The distribution to first responders (including the school nurses) went off very successfully at CCHS. The second dose is scheduled for distribution on February 12 and February 13 after school and on the weekend. DPH continues to predict Phase 2 which includes educators in February.
CMS Building Project Forum
Tomorrow night at 5 pm, a community forum focused on sharing information and gathering feedback about the CMS building project will be held. This flyer provides all of the details.
Enjoy the rest of the evening!
Best,
Laurie
January 21, 2021
Dear Families:
We learned of two positive CCHS student cases today. One did not require any contact tracing since the student has not been in school. We completed contract tracing for the other student.
Have a great evening.
Best,
Laurie
January 20, 2021
Dear Families:
We learned of two positive COVID student cases since yesterday. One case occurred at CMS and one at Alcott. We completed the contract tracing process are currently wrapping up close contact notifications for today’s case.
As I’m sure you have noticed, cases have dropped since the earlier part of the month. We thank you for your efforts to minimize transmission.
Have a good night.
Best,
Laurie
January 18, 2021
Dear Families:
I hope you had a great long weekend! I am sharing updates and reminders tonight.
Positive COVID Case
We learned of a positive student COVID case at CMS this weekend. There are no contacts since the student has not been in school since before the break.
COVID District Data Dashboard
The COVID District Data Dashboard is updated as of Saturday morning. Including this additional case, the total number of identified cases since school opened is 97.
DPH Community Dashboard
The DPH Weekly Community Dashboard indicates that Concord and Carlisle remain in the yellow category.
Asymptomatic Pooled COVID Testing Survey
As indicated last week, we will be participating in the state’s surveillance COVID testing program. This is a program utilizing pooled PCR tests that are processed in groups of 10. The positive pool is tested individually in order to identify the positive person. We expect to be able to conduct the individual PCR test at CCHS with a 24-48 hours turnaround for test results. The entire pool of 10 quarantines until the results are received. The state is offering districts 6 free weeks. We will be then be discussing the next steps. It is very helpful to have data about the level of interest so please complete this one question survey as soon as possible.
DPH now indicates that if you have a previous PCR positive COVID test documented then you do not need to be tested after travel. In lieu of providing a negative test result, anyone who tested positive previously will need to share the documentation of that with us prior to a return to school. The state also clarified that a vaccine does not exempt you from the need for testing at this point.
If you traveled this weekend out of state, you must provide a negative result to the school nurse after your return to Massachusetts (unless the above applies).
Special Martin Luther King Day Programs on WIQH
A number of programs related to Dr. King’s birthday are shared on WIQH this weekend. This list outlines the details.
New Concord Middle School Community Forum
On January 25 at 5 p.m., a forum will provide updates and offer opportunities for feedback about the process of designing a new Concord Middle School. Details are found in this flyer.
Have a great start to the week!
Best,
Laurie
January 13, 2021
Dear Families:
We did learn of two cases today:
1 adult at Willard
1 student at CMS
Last night, the Joint School Committees supported the districts’ participation in the upcoming free six week on-site asymptomatic PCR pooled COVID testing program funding by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In this program, 10 nasal samples are bundled together and analyzed. The pool comes back positive or negative. If it is positive, the individuals in the pool need to be tested individually. Our hope is that this six week program will allow us to get started and then determine the next steps.
Our greatest need right now is to understand the level of student participation. If you intend for your child to participate, please complete this anonymous form. Please submit one form for each child.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Have a great night!
Best,
Laurie
January 13, 2021
Dear Families,
We wanted to pass along this information from Open Table about today’s local food pantry.
Best,
Laurie
Food Pantry Wednesday, January 13 1-2 pm
There will be a drive-thru food pantry at First Parish in Concord today, Wednesday, January 13, from 1-2 pm for Concord and Carlisle residents, and for those who live elsewhere but work in Concord and Carlisle. Thanks as always for helping us spread the word and feed our friends and neighbors!
January 11, 2021
Dear Families:
I hope you had a good start to the week!
We learned of two positive student cases today with one at CMS and one at CCHS. Both students have not been in school so there was no contact tracing.
Best,
Laurie
January 10, 2021
Dear Families:
I hope you had a great weekend. I offer several updates.
Weekend COVID Cases
1 CCHS adult
1 Alcott adult
There were no school close contacts.
District COVID Data Dashboard
The District Data Dashboard is updated as of yesterday morning. With these two new cases, the total number of cases since we reopened is now 91.
Concord Carlisle COVID Data
The MDPH weekly numbers were released in the community report on January 7, 2021. Both Concord and Carlisle remain in the yellow range.
Remote Learning and Travel
We have had a number of requests to learn remotely from various locations outside of the primary residence in Concord, Carlisle, or Boston. While we understand the question, we just simply cannot handle more variables for students to learn remotely for various time periods from various locations. Homeschooling is an option for these situations if you opt to still consider them.
Asymptomatic Pooled Testing
The Joint School Committees will discuss the plan proposed by DPH and DESE on Tuesday night. The agenda is posted here. Other agenda items include budget development and updates on our objectives to hire more faculty of color.
Vaccine Distribution at CCHS
First responders will be vaccinated in the CCHS parking lot on Thursday and Friday after school and during the evening as well as all day Saturday.
Have a great evening.
Best,
Laurie
January 8, 2021
Dear Families:
I am sharing four new COVID cases today:
I have been asked a number of times about the patterns we see in transmission. I thought I’d list what I see as most prevalent during this current spike:
School is not a source of spread so far from what we know without asymptomatic testing available which is of course very good news. The School Committee will be discussing options on Tuesday night for surveillance testing hoping we can put something into place including perhaps the program the Governor rolled out today. We will have more information over the coming week.
Best,
Laurie