Meigs Schools closing early tomorrow, rest of the week

Dear Meigs County Schools Community,

We are excited about the 2021-2020 school year and the opportunity to serve the children and families of Meigs County. You can sense the excitement of the students when they come into the school buildings. As you well know, the circumstances of the past 18 months have created a learning loss in students all across the state and country. We are working hard to address the learning gaps in all students through new and different programs that will be introduced as the school year moves forward.

Also as you know Covid-19 is still an issue for all of society. As cases continue to rise in the community and state, schools all across the volunteer state are reflecting this increase as well. Our staff is working diligently to sanitize all classrooms, buses, hallways, and cafeterias, etc. every day and in some cases multiple times per day.

In order to help you stay informed about the virus within your child’s school, we have created a dashboard that you can access through our Meigs County Schools website. This instrument will list each school’s confirmed active case rate. This dashboard is updated several times per week.

Last year, we were permitted to take several different steps to help mitigate the spread of Covid at school. Some of those steps included: operating on a staggered A/B schedule and using Wednesdays as a virtual day which allowed for teachers to devote time to remote students as well as deep clean the buildings. We were also able to offer remote/virtual learning on a wide scale. However, due to schools not being included in recent state legislative changes, those options are not available to us at this time. (virtual learning is still available for folks who are positive for Covid or are quarantined for the short term). As it stands now on the date of this release, if schools close for Covid or other illnesses, school systems must utilize stockpile or inclement weather days.

We will continue to be flexible and change as circumstances with the virus change to help slow down the spread of the Delta variant. We are practicing increased social distancing in the school cafeterias, classrooms, and gymnasiums. We are disinfecting all areas of the schools daily and continue to conduct temperature checks in the morning before school. Also, we continue to strongly encourage all students and staff to wear a mask while at school and near others.

Please remember that if your child has symptoms, you should keep them home out of caution and communicate with the school. We want to thank you for your continued efforts to help us have a safe and effective school year. We also thank you for your flexibility and patience as we work together for the children of Meigs County.

Sincerely,

Clint Baker

Director of Schools