Petersburg School Board will be meeting Tuesday night to discuss changing spring break and to go over student assessment results.
The board has altered the school calendar a few times already this year to accommodate protocols for the pandemic. They’ve added a few additional in service days after the winter break to allow for quarantining among staff and students.
During a radio call-in show Friday, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, said that the board will likely be considering changing the calendar again, splitting the normal week-long spring break in March into multiple shorter breaks.
“There’s been some conversation about breaking up those days and maybe spreading them out a little bit since a lot of people probably won’t be able to travel for a week–there’s been some interest in that—have a few three day weekends throughout, kind of scattered around and get people a little bit of a breather but just knowing that maybe a solid week there isn’t necessarily going to get people what they…we’ve had in the past.”
The School Board will be reviewing its protocols for staff and students returning to school after traveling in or out of state.
The board will be going over updated guidance on quarantining from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
Kludt-Painter said the district has very few staff members who plan to travel for the winter break.
Also at the meeting, the school board will be hearing about results from the student standardized assessments this fall. They’ll also be going over the evaluation for the superintendent.
The school board meeting starts at 6 p.m. via Ring Central video conferencing. KFSK will be broadcasting the meeting live.
To listen to the meeting, you can stream it online at KFSK.org. To participate during visitors’ comments, email the district office before the meeting to get the password for the videoconference. Those email addresses are: exec@pcsd.us or supt@pcsd.us. Or call the office at (877)-526-7656.
Also, Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. on KFSK we will have Campus Connection, a call-in with school district officials.
Here is the meeting agenda.
Details of the Petersburg School District Intrastate testing policy are as follows:
1. PSD Staff or Students will take a COVID-19 test at the Petersburg Airport upon return from travel (Day 0). Travelers arriving by AMHS ferry may utilize the State Travel Portal to receive a test at the airport, just as if they had arrived by air.
2. PSD Staff or Students will practice strict social distancing** until the results of the Day 0 test results are back.
3. Once they have received negative test results, PSD Staff / Students will continue to practice strict social distancing for the remaining 5 days after their original arrival date.
4. PSD Staff or Students are recommended, but not required to have a second COVID-19 test at the Petersburg Airport on Day 7+.
5. PSD Staff or Students may report back to school at PSD on Day 6, with negative test results/boarding pass and if they are symptom-free.
6. Students should attend classes remotely if offered, and parent/student will coordinate with the classroom teacher to determine make-up work.
7. PSD Staff or Students may quarantine for 14 days after they return from travel without testing.
8. PSD Staff or Students will self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days after return and promptly report symptoms.
9. PSD Staff or Students who travel for less than 72 hours are not required to test or quarantine, but should self-monitor for 14 days for any symptoms.
The district requires a copy of your boarding pass and your negative test result in order to implement the five-day option. You are strongly encouraged to take the recommended 2nd test after day 7+, if possible.
The only way to reduce the 14-day requirement is with at least one negative test.
** Strict Social Distancing is defined as:
-May be in outdoor spaces but must be 6 feet away from anyone not in your household and must wear a mask.
-Curbside shopping or food delivery okay.
-Cannot enter restaurants, bars, gyms, community centers, sporting facilities, office buildings, school or daycare facilities.
-No group activities like sports, practices, weddings, funerals, etc.
