Your local public health authorities make the final decisions about how long quarantine should last, based on local conditions and needs. Follow the recommendations of your local public health department if you need to quarantine. Options they will consider include stopping quarantine:

  • On day 10 without testing, free of fever and symptoms
  • On day 7 after receiving a negative test result (test must occur on day 5 or later)
    • Written result of the negative test must be supplied to the building nurse.
    • Individual must be free of fever and symptoms.

After stopping quarantine, you should:

  • Watch for symptoms until 14 days after exposure.
  • If you have symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact your local public health authority or healthcare provider.
  • Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from others, wash their hands, avoid crowds, and take other steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

CDC continues to endorse quarantine for 14 days and recognizes that any quarantine shorter than 14 days balances reduced burden against a small possibility of spreading the virus. CDC will continue to evaluate new information and update recommendations as needed. See Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing for guidance on options to reduce quarantine.

This web page contains frequently asked questions about the District’s Return to Learn Plan.

If you have a question you don’t see listed below please submit your question so we can provide you with the most updated, accurate information.

Submit a Question

Frequently Asked Questions

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides support for anxiety, depression, job stress, wellness concerns, and much more. To talk to a counselor, please call 800-327-4692, or contact them online. Similarly, families can reach out for EFR through their Student Assistance Program (SAP). Maintaining work-life balance is more stressful than it’s ever been. The district partners with Employee & Family Resources (EFR) to being a Student Assistance Plan (SAP) and an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) that provides a variety of counseling, consultations, resources, and coaching benefits for students, employees, and their family members to help with small concerns, big problems, and everything in between. Your EAP benefits are cost-free, confidential, and available 24/7/365.

The district has a balance between protecting employees who are positive and their condition but also notifying those exposed. First, we will seek guidance from the Department of Public Health and will notify those who they suggest as soon as possible. The District does have a dashboard available for daily reporting.

We will partner with Polk County and Dallas County Public Health for this service. The district lead nurse will communicate to all individuals that we know have been in close contact with the infected individual and give them their next steps.

The guidance continues to be to self-isolate for 14 days if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Monitor for symptoms during that 14-day period.

The district will not be asking for students or staff to report where they are traveling. We are currently prohibiting district travel aside from athletic and activities events. We will continue to advise staff and students to limit opportunities for exposure with social distancing and staying home as much as possible.

As of 8/25/2020, there is no longer any type of quarantine on travel of any kind. The risk of traveling within the US or outside is considered the same and as such, the CDC is instead focusing on mitigation & education of all people who have traveled instead. There are still certain countries where non-US citizens are prohibited entry, but US citizens are no longer required to quarantine.

More information can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html

The individual sick will be isolated and sent home as soon as possible. If the individual has a confirmed case of COVID-19, we will immediately work with local health officials to help administer the course of action. Depending on the number of cases in the building, we will work with public health to determine how long the building should be closed to gain a better understanding of the situation and give time for custodial staff to clean and disinfect the building. We will communicate with staff and families of the next steps and time frame to ensure everyone is safe to return to the building.

WCSD staff will be expected to use some form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) based on their role. This may include wearing a face shield, face mask, and/or gloves. Students will be required to wear a face covering.

The CDC does not recommend using masks with exhalation valves or vents because this type of mask may not prevent you from spreading COVID-19 to others. The hole in the material may allow your respiratory droplets to escape and reach others. Research on the effectiveness of these types of masks is ongoing.

If a WCSD student or employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, the district will work with local health officials to determine the appropriate next steps. This may require a building to temporarily shift to an online learning environment. Because each case is unique, we will communicate as we do for snow days via phone, email, and text alerts any time-sensitive announcements regarding any needed changes for a school day.

WCSD will also reach out to the employee/supervisor or family about possible exposure. We will work alongside the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Dallas County Health Department to communicate with those individuals impacted to determine their needs and provide support.

We will deep-clean any district buildings impacted. We must maintain privacy of individuals but will share extensive communication regarding exposure or potential exposure to allow families and staff to make informed decisions

Update as of 12/14/20:  If a student or staff member is exposed to someone testing positive for COVID-19, who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes with both parties wearing masks, those individuals will receive a monitoring email from the school/building nurse notifying them of the next steps. Those who will be monitored by our school nurses will continue to be assessed for symptoms and temperature checks taken upon arrival at school. This is a change from a phone call our nurses and building administrators were making previously.

WCSD will continue to follow guidance from both local and state authorities. If Governor Reynold’s office or another agency recommends school closures, we would immediately transition to a fully-online learning environment.

WCSD will assess students for symptoms of COVID-19 and share that information with families. WCSD will continue to encourage families to keep their students home when they are not feeling well. This will help us all ensure that we continue working together to keep everyone healthy and safe.

WCSD is asking employees to monitor their temperature and symptoms. If an employee feels sick and/or has symptoms related to COVID-19, they are asked not to come into work.

WCSD has products that provide protection over time and different disinfecting agents that can be applied and prohibit spread. Our custodial and maintenance crews are working on touch-point cleaning schedules to apply disinfectant, and we have remediation plans set for when a positive case impacts our school buildings and/or district facilities. A follow-up team will come in to do a deep-clean after 24-48 hours of initial sanitization.

We are measuring and working on ways to get maximum distance in rooms. When possible, kids will sit at desks 4-6 feet apart in classrooms and be asked to physical distance whenever possible.

Students will be put into district online classes, not by building.  We are continuing to work through ways the students online and students in-person can connect throughout the year.

We will put mask breaks into student’s schedules.  When students aren’t intentionally following proper protocol, discipline may be received.

We will work with Public Health on their recommendations if and when we should lift the face-covering requirement.

No, the only way not to be in quarantine is if the individual has tested positive in the past 3 months. Antibody testing won’t prove it was in the past 3 months which is the length of immunity per CDC.

We will work closely with Public Health to determine the next steps such as who needs to quarantine. The guidance continues to be to self-isolate for 14 days if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Monitor for symptoms during that 14-day period.

 

Close contact means one or more of the following:

  • You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes.
  • You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19.
  • You had direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed) who has COVID-19.
  • You shared eating or drinking utensils with the person who has COVID-19.
  • The person with COVID-19 sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you.

If your child had symptoms of COVID-19 and tested positive, you must isolate at home for 10 days.  You can count the self-quarantine from the day you got tested.  You should make sure you get plenty of rest, plenty of water, avoid contact with everyone, including your family, and continue to monitor your symptoms.  You will be able to return to school when you have three days with no fever AND your respiratory symptoms have improved AND it has been ten days since the symptoms first appeared.  

If you did not have symptoms of COVID-19 but tested positive, you must quarantine at home for 10 days since the test.   

Your local public health authorities make the final decisions about how long quarantine should last, based on local conditions and needs. Follow the recommendations of your local public health department if you need to quarantine. Options they will consider include stopping quarantine:

  • On day 10 without testing
  • On day 7 after receiving a negative test result (test must occur on day 5 or later)

After stopping quarantine, you should

  • Watch for symptoms until 14 days after exposure.
  • If you have symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact your local public health authority or healthcare provider.
  • Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from others, wash their hands, avoid crowds, and take other steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 

No, your other children and household members do not need to stay home. They aren’t considered exposed.

Make sure members of your household wash their hands often using soap and water for 20 seconds.
Make sure every member of your household covers their coughs and sneezes with a tissue or their elbow, and then washes their hands afterwards.

Test Iowa Information

Test Iowa Location information 

Exercise and play is an important part of a student’s daily activity. We will allow outdoor recess.

WCSD will continue to support students in our Gifted/Talented Program so there is not a reduction in opportunities. Please contact your building for assistance.

WCSD  will continue to find creative ways to provide hands-on learning opportunities as necessary. WCSD Teaching & Learning is currently developing standards-based criteria for these classes and opportunities. We will also identify how classes can maintain social distance and other health and safety measures during hands-on learning.

Student attendance and participation are important.

Please reach out to your school PTO representative to pick up those supplies.

You will be contacted by your assigned teacher for supplies needed for online learning.

All students will have access to technology as we are deploying iPads and Macbooks for all of our students. We do not foresee much printing that will be needed, but if so, teachers will work with those families.

We did investigate the ability to move between models. However, given that this data will drive our staffing patterns, we do not anticipate the ability to move students between models until the second semester.

Teachers will be assigned either online only or in the building only.  We will have more intentionality in the structure.

Our team is currently planning instructional modules that can be housed in Canvas and delivered either in-person, online, or both.  We hope this approach will be helpful, no matter the student’s chosen learning environment or any intermittent closures that may occur. Yes, any ELP-identified student will still have access to extended instruction with their ELP teacher.

Beyond in-person plans, you have likely heard discussions related to one or more hybrid models. Many districts, including ours, have been investigating models including A/B (alternating) days or alternating weeks. We considered these alternating hybrid models in order to comply with possible directives for significantly reduced numbers of students in classrooms. With the current information available to us, we believe our planning will allow for typical numbers of students in classrooms. As such, we have pivoted away from those conversations at this time. We believe our hybrid model will be in-person learning for those who choose to attend and continuous (online) learning for those who are not comfortable attending.

Teachers will be assigned online only and in the building only.  We will have more intentionality in the structure.

The current answer is that it will be like any other absence, however, we now have a 1:1 environment and a learning management system (LMS). That immediately will make it more accessible to students than the traditional model that we have lived under in the past. An option is more recording of lessons and postings, the assignments will be available through the LMS, there is an opportunity for a student to participate in asynchronous and synchronous chats.

The WCSD Nutrition Services Department has been working on several plans. In a scheduled virtual learning setting, students and families can sign up to pick up meals at the schools. In an unanticipated closure, meals would be available at curbside pickup locations. In the hybrid model, students will be able to take meals home for the days they would be learning at home.

WCSD identified early on that child care would be a concern. All the same measures for health and safety will be in place at our before and after school care programs and childcare.

WCSD has worked with individuals and healthcare professionals to see if our current mitigation strategies are adequate or if additional accommodations are needed. We will use a long-standing interactive process to communicate directly with employees.

For students, WCSD will work to accommodate each family’s choice but ask that families contact the school nurse to address concerns in further detail and potentially develop a more robust healthcare plan.

The Building Administrators have communicated with families and plans are also located in the Return to Learn plan.

We will have activities as allowed by the state associations.  We will follow all guidelines as applicable.

Yes.

These are all allowed.  There will be water filling stations in every building.

The CDC does not recommend using masks with exhalation valves or vents because this type of mask may not prevent you from spreading COVID-19 to others. The hole in the material may allow your respiratory droplets to escape and reach others. Research on the effectiveness of these types of masks is ongoing.

For context, Iowa Code requires that we provide transportation to students who are outside a (2 mile) radius from their school building at the K-8 grade level, (3 mile) radius at the 9-12 grade level. Iowa Code does not require Iowa school districts to provide a pay-to-ride program. 

Additional Information: 

  • All students who are scheduled for fully online education have been removed from bus routes. 
  • Students who are eligible to ride a school bus will only be routed to/from one address listed in Powerschool. Routing to multiple addresses will not be permitted. 
  • Students who are issued a parking pass at Waukee High School will not be assigned to a bus. 

Changes to our Pay-to-Ride Option: 

Historically, students living within one mile for K-5 and two miles for 6-12 students have been able to ride a regular district provided school bus by paying a fee. In an attempt to physically distance students as much as possible, we still need to reduce the number of riders. To do this, we will be implementing a walk-zone plan. 

Walk-zones will be defined as: 

  • Elementary Schools living less than (.5 mile) 
  • Secondary Schools – grades 6-12 living less than (1.0 mile)
  • Within these walk-zones, students will not be allowed to pay-to-ride. 
  • Distances are calculated in accordance with board policy. 

The District has been working through plans for safely transporting students as we start the school year. Similar to elements of the Waukee Community School District (WCSD) Return-to-Learn plan, we are focused on layered mitigation strategies and physical distancing when possible. With that in mind, transportation services will look different and we need to make changes from how we have typically operated.

  • Face coverings are required for all riders, staff, and drivers.  
  • Specific loading and unloading procedures will be implemented to reduce passing by other students. 
  • To the extent possible, we will limit two students to each seat. We will be assigning seats for all grade levels and requiring family members to sit together. 
  • Students who qualify for transportation will be issued a bus pass for the purpose of knowing who will be riding at all times. It will be a credit card size and can easily be attached to a backpack or lanyard. 
  • In the event that a driver or passenger has tested positive for COVID, we will follow contact tracing protocols. In addition, we will take that bus out of service for a minimum of 24 hours and will disinfect and clean it thoroughly.
  • WCSD and our partner, Durham School Services, will work each day to provide students a safe ride to and from their school. We have always worked to keep busses clean and will increase our efforts this year by increasing the frequency of cleaning inside the busses. Busses will be cleaned and disinfected after each time students ride. 
  • WCSD will continue to provide transportation for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP) if it is outlined in their IEP. 
  • WCSD will continue to provide transportation between school buildings for specialized programs as it is needed. 
  • There will be no changes to our practice as it pertains to daycare centers. We will examine this practice before the start of the 2021-2022 school year and communicate if we are making changes. 
  • We will also continue to provide transportation at no cost to students living within the described distances set out in WCSD board of education policy 702.2 if the most direct route to school would require the crossing of any of the major streets listed in WCSD board of education policy 702.2-R(1).