IDEA Rio Grande Valley Families,
We hope you and your scholar had a wonderful first week back at school!
I know many of you are concerned for your children’s safety as COVID case counts rise quickly in our community and across the country.
As a fellow parent, I share your concern for our children’s safety and the need for them to be in-person, learning lots of important things every day. We believe strongly that students deserve to be learning in person from a great teacher every single day. IDEA believes that it’s best for them academically as well as socially and emotionally. We were one of the first in the nation to open our doors for in-person learning last year, and we hope to be an example again this year in keeping staff and student health and attendance strong.
We want school to feel as normal as possible for your child. We also want to make sure you have the information you need to make wise choices for your child and your family’s health. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to our amazing school nurses with questions or concerns!
You can read more details about our health and safety protocols here:
ideapublicschools.org/back2school2021/health-and-safety-information/texas-health-safety-faqs/
On the next page, you will see how we can work together to keep our children learning safely in person every day. Let’s work together to make this happen!
Warmly,
Jill Dominguez
Regional Superintendent Rio Grande Valley
IDEA Public Schools
Contact Tracing & Parent Communication
I wanted to reassure you that IDEA will continue to conduct contact tracing whenever we have a positive staff or student case. We will alert you if you if it has been confirmed that your child has had close contact with a positive case on campus. We will also alert parents of the entire grade level if we have a positive staff or student case on campus. Please contact your school’s nurse if your child ever tests positive or has close contact with someone who tests positive. Please know that we consult the local county health department on every case and follow their guidance.
Cleaning
We continue with our cleaning and sanitizing protocols in the classroom. We also have sanitizing stations within the campus for students and staff to disinfect their hands.
Masks Strongly Recommended
We are asking and strongly recommend your child wear a mask at school while local community transmission is high. While masks are not required, we highly encourage them right now. The greater the number of students who wear masks, the more group protection all staff and students enjoy. As we learned last year, masks are a very effective way to reduce the spread of COVID on campus. For more information about community transmission rates, see:
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view.
Sneeze Guards
Sneeze guards have been installed in each classroom on every other desk for Pre-K – 5thgrade.
Home Screening
Please continue to screen your child’s health at home. If they have a temperature over100.4 degrees, please keep them at home. If they show other COVID symptoms, please get in touch with the school nurse to determine if it would be essential for them to stay home.
Consider Vaccinations
If your child is 12 years old or older, please consider allowing them to receive a COVID vaccination. COVID vaccinations significantly reduce the chances of infection and even more significantly reduce the chances of severe illness or hospitalization. Talk with your doctor to determine if this is the right choice for your child.
