Dear LHSD Families,
With the start of a new year, our community, nation and world are reviewing collective changes in the way we live, learn and work with COVID-19. Given the current pandemic developments, the evolving CDC quarantine guidance and vaccination recommendations, our district has been closely collaborating with our local health department to make adjustments to our current policy.
Effective Monday, Feb. 7, The Logan-Hocking School District will move to Tier 1: We strongly encourage anyone not vaccinated or those with a pre-existing health condition to wear a mask at all times while at school.
In addition, please take this time to read the new COVID-19 guidance released from the Ohio Department of Health. If your child is exposed to COVID-19 and is not showing symptoms, they will no longer need to quarantine from school. Direct contacts, regardless of vaccination status, may remain in the classroom environment if they do the following:
• Wear a mask for 10 days after their last day of exposure
• Self-monitor, or parent-monitor, for symptoms of COVID-19
• Isolate and get tested if they start to experience symptoms associated with COVID-19 (regardless of level of severity)
Please read this document for the full Mask to Stay/Test to Play guidelines.
If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please notify your school. If you do a home test, report the positive test at hockingcountyhealthdepartment.com. When a student tests positive for COVID-19, they will need to do the following:
• Isolate at home for 5 days
• If no symptoms or symptoms have resolved after 5 days, they can return to school with a mask for 5 additional days
We know from our community health leaders that vaccination, boosters when eligible, wearing masks, good hand hygiene, and social distancing are all important and necessary tools for reducing the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19. We strongly encourage the use of these tools for all members of our school community moving forward.
Please note that while we have made the decision to adjust our masking policy, our district is still facing unforeseen staffing challenges due to high case numbers in our community. We will navigate these challenges day by day and continue doing everything in our power to keep students learning in person. However, we ask parents to be aware that the strain could result in a shift to remote learning for periods of time during the remainder of the school year.
We appreciate your continued cooperation and understanding.
Sincerely,
Monte Bainter, Superintendent
The Logan-Hocking Board of Education
Logan-Hocking School District