The Maine Department of Education in collaboration with the Maine CDC announced that school systems with universal masking policies may suspend contact tracing in their schools in order to allow schools to re-allocate resources in more effective ways.
The Gorham School Department has suspended its processes for contact tracing. Our School nurses are working together to create a FAQ sheet with a clear outline of recent changes as they have been coming fast and furious.
1. PLEASE STILL CONTINUE TO REPORT POSITIVE CASES TO SCHOOL NURSES AND/OR SCHOOL ADMIN. Although we will no longer be conducting contact tracing protocols, we must still report daily case numbers to the Maine CDC and on our school website.
2. If positive cases are within a household, we will still uphold the recent changes to the SOP which require household close contacts to quarantine for 5 days past the most recent positive in the household. Currently, this applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, however we are closely monitoring the data and are considering adjusting this to just unvaccinated household members after the current surge subsides.
3. We are still BinaxNow testing for students who become symptomatic during the course of the school day. Again, the primary rule of thumb here is that if a child is sick, please do not send them to school to be tested. We are only allowed to use our tests for the specific purpose stated above. If a student is experiencing 1 common symptom or 2 uncommon symptoms, they should remain home, and you can consult your PCP or reach out to your school nurse for more specific recommendations.
4. We will no longer be sending out DAILY close contact letters and/or community letters. We will maintain our website with up to date information regarding active cases.
5. We will still be requiring that our core COVID-19 protocols are followed in school, and strongly encouraged outside of school. Those are:
- Stay home if you are sick
- Wear a face covering
- Wash/Sanitize hands frequently
- Keep your distance when you can
In closing, I truly appreciate the flexibility, patience, understanding, and support from each of you as we continue to navigate these still uncharted pandemic conditions together.
The past three weeks have been full of all kinds of ups and downs. I suspect this will be the last “big” change in the SOP for a while, and I strongly suspect that our current surge in positive cases will abate relatively soon as well.
I am in continual awe of the hard work and dedication of our staff and even more of our parents for their focus on our children. There is no harder job right now than to be a parent, and our Gorham parents continue to excel and shine brightly. PROUD TO BE A RAM!