Dear district staff, school board, and community contacts,
As you know, Eastern Idaho Public Health moved Teton County to the Critical Risk (red) level last Tuesday. Since then, the numbers of active cases per 10K population have moderated a bit; we must remain below the high-risk (orange) level for 14 consecutive days before EIPH will drop our level back so we could return to the hybrid learning model as called for in the TSD 401 Reopening Plan. The admin team will meet on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to re-evaluate our status at that point.
While this has been a difficult transition for everyone, we all learned many lessons in the spring and our students will benefit from them now as we begin all-online learning.
Other news:
** Governor Brad Little moved the state back to a modified version of Stage 2 in the Idaho Rebounds plan. Here’s the link to the Governor’s press release: https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/gov-little-calls-on-national-guard-to-help-in-pandemic-response-as-idaho-rolls-back-to-modified-stage-2/
** The ABC program is offering day-long programming and will have a limited number of spots available through a teacher or principal recommendation. They will make sure only 10 students and staff are in learning spaces to meet the Stage 2 limits on gatherings.
** Keith Gnagey told those at the COVID Q&A Thursday that Teton Valley’s positivity rate is 25%. This means that one in every four people who are tested have a positive result. The rate is *not* due to increased testing, although that has also gone up, he said. Rather, more people are symptomatic and more people have COVID.
** The COVID Dashboard will be updated today — see graphic below. We are adding anyone who was missed previously in the reporting, as well as this week’s incidents:
At Tetonia, 1 positive case of a staff member, and 21 possible exposures (3 to staff, the rest to students);
At Teton High, 2 positive cases of students, and 14 possible exposures of students;
At Teton Middle School, 1 positive case of a student, and 16 possible exposures to students;
At Rendezvous, 2 possible exposures to a student
At Driggs Elementary, 1 possible exposure to a student;
In the “other” category, there is 1 possible exposure (this staff member works at more than one school.)
Including the corrections, that means 6 more positive cases, for a total of 61, and 55 more possible exposures, for a total of 443 — in all, 504 incidents we have been alerted to since August 31st.
Note: While the principals and admin team are supplying info, errors on this table are strictly my own.
** With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I thought this article might be helpful to all of us. (It was brought to my attention by one of the other local Public Information officers that I meet with regularly. Thank you, Olivia!)
Thinking About a Holiday Gathering? Look at This Troubling Map First
An alarming visualization shows the odds that at least one Covid-positive person attends a given event. It should give us all pause about family plans.
Read in WIRED: https://apple.news/A5KGnT4LGSWWhsr8nLZyHUQ
For your reference, here are the links to the district’s Reopening Plan https://tsd401.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Combined-TSD401-District-Re-Open-Plan.pdf and the state’s Framework for Reopening Schools https://www.sde.idaho.gov/re-opening/files/Idaho-Back-to-School-Framework-October-2020.pdf
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS.
Stay well, Teton!
Jeanne Anderson
PR Consultant to Teton School District #401
Driggs, ID
Cell: 208-360-6518
