October 29 Update: COVID-19 Data Dashboard

The weekly update to North Tama's COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been posted as of Thursday, October 29 at 2:43 p.m.. The dashboard can be accessed at this link, or by visiting the district website at www.ntredhawks.org and selecting "Data Dashboard" from the "Return to Learn" pull-down menu.  

Please note that there are tabs at the bottom of the dashboard.  While the most recent update is on the first tab, you may wish to click on the tabs for the previous weeks to compare prior weeks' data.  

This data represents a "snapshot in time" and is released approximately once each week. These numbers are constantly changing as individuals are tested, placed into quarantine, and released from quarantine. 

View the dashboard at this link. 

 

October 15 Update: COVID-19 Data Dashboard

 The weekly update to North Tama's COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been posted as of Thursday, October 15 at 1:07 p.m.. The dashboard can be accessed at this link, or by visiting the district website at www.ntredhawks.org and selecting "Data Dashboard" from the "Return to Learn" pull-down menu.  

At the time of this release, there are no active cases of COVID-19 at the PK-6 level.  At the 7-12 level, the number of active cases is between 1 and 5.  (State guidance on confidentiality does not allow districts to release a specific number of cases when the number of cases is between 1 and 5.)  

No students or staff are currently in isolation or quarantine because of they have had close contact with a positive individual in the school setting.  Close contact is defined as persons less than 6 feet away from an infectious person for more than 15 consecutive minutes AND the infectious person, the close contact, or both were not wearing a face covering during the interaction. There are 18 individuals in isolation/quarantine because of contacts outside the school setting or for other, non-school related reasons.  

The dashboard is updated once each week.  In smaller school districts like North Tama, breaking down data into smaller groups such as grade levels or teams or providing updates more frequently than once each week may make certain individual cases easily identifiable, which may constitute a violation of FERPA. Families of students/staff that have come into close contact with a positive individual in the school setting will be notified by Tama County Public Health as soon as possible following identification of a positive case.

Please note that there are tabs at the bottom of the dashboard.  While the most recent update is on the first tab, you may wish to click on the tabs for the previous weeks to compare prior weeks' data.  

Please also note that this data represents a "snapshot in time" and is released approximately once each week. These numbers are constantly changing as individuals are tested, placed into quarantine, and released from quarantine.  

This dashboard is designed to share as much information as possible while protecting the privacy of those affected. We share this news with you so you can make well-informed decisions for your family.

Updated Return to Learn Plan: 7-12 Returning to 100% Capacity on Monday 10/19

 At last night's school board meeting, the board approved several updates to North Tama's Return to Learn Plan.  As part of this process, it was decided that North Tama's Jr./Sr. High School Building (grades 7-12) will return to 100% capacity this coming Monday, October 19. 

In addition to the return to 100% capacity, the changes in this updated plan include recently-released state guidelines related to confidentiality, parent notification, and modified quarantine requirements based on whether the individual(s) in close contact were wearing a mask. The updated plan now includes a measure that may return the whole district or an individual building to the 50% capacity hybrid plan for a two-week period depending on the number of active positives within the building. Additionally, the document provides clarification and updates to several components of the district’s plan including the selection of a learning model, parent notification of positive cases, face covering requirements, and procedures that will be followed when students and staff exhibit possible symptoms of COVID-19. 

Please keep in mind that additional guidance or directives from the state and our continually-changing local context may necessitate additions or changes to the district's plans.  It continues to be North Tama’s goal to follow practices and offer models of learning that will both educate our students and keep our students and staff healthy and safe during the current global pandemic.  

The updated Return to Learn Plan, approved by the North Tama Board of Education on 10/12/2020 can be viewed at this link the school website: Return To Learn Plan.  

October 12, 2020 North Tama Board Agenda

 

The North Tama Board of Education will meet on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the North Tama Multipurpose Room.  Please click here to review the complete agenda, which includes information about participation in the public forum and the required self-health screening which must be completed prior to attending the meeting.  

New Quarantine & Face Covering Guidance

 

Earlier this week, Governor Reynolds released new quarantine-related guidelines that apply to schools and childcare settings.  In short, the new guidelines state that persons in close contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus will not be required to quarantine if both individuals were wearing face masks. 

Close contacts within households and some other settings will still be required by Tama County to Public Health to quarantine for 14 days; however, the Governor’s new guidelines for schools and childcare settings will apply at North Tama and all schools around the state, effective immediately. 

The Iowa Department of Public Health has also clarified that plastic face shields alone are not sufficient to meet Governor Reynolds’ new quarantine guidance.  Therefore, North Tama is modifying our local guidelines to reflect this change.  Effective immediately, plastic face shields alone will not be considered an acceptable face covering at North Tama.  

Students and staff may still wish to wear a plastic face covering in combination with a cloth or disposable mask as an additional precaution.  The Governor’s office recently sent a shipment of plain white cloth masks to school districts across the state. If your child is in need of a mask from this shipment, please let us know and we will be glad to provide an additional mask while supplies last. The school will also continue to maintain a supply of disposable masks.  

The attached infographic provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health describes the new quarantine guidelines.