Dear Highland Families, March 17, 2020
After much deliberation and consideration regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lewis County C-1 School District has decided to close immediately following the early release scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. All activities, practices, and functions at the school will be closed until at least April 6, 2020.
Please understand that there still has not been a single case of the corona virus in our area. The cancellation of school is purely precautionary in nature in the hopes that it could possibly prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into our community. For this effort to be effective, it is highly recommended that citizens stay home and avoid unnecessary travel during this cancellation when possible. As previously mentioned in earlier communications from the school, this is an unprecedented time and the situation is continuously evolving. The cancellation until April 6, 2020 is an initial expected return date and may very well be extended past that time line depending on the spread of COVID-19 in the country and in our communities.
The district distributed an FAQ document earlier today in an attempt to answer some questions. I want to clarify that the district does not expect parents to send their children to school if they wish to self-quarantine for any reason. In these cases, we will count the absence as a Verified Absence and it will be excused. The request for doctor notes on students that have compromised immune systems was intended to assure that parents had discussed with their doctor the recommendation to either quarantine or to allow sending the student to school. The doctor note will not be required to be excused, we simply want to be informed if a student with such concerns should or should not be attending. The FAQ document will be updated.
Again, any parent that wishes to keep their children at home tomorrow may do so without a doctor note. Out of concern for those that may need time to make childcare arrangements, school will be in session tomorrow and will release at the normal early release time.
Tomorrow the nurse or attendance office will be contacting the parents/guardians of district students who have prescription medication at school and need to pick up that medication for use at home during the extended break. The call will be made to schedule a time for the family to retrieve that medication. If you already know that you will need to pick up specific prescriptions, please try to make arrangements to do so tomorrow if possible.
Finally, the LCC1 administration, board of education, faculty and staff will continue to assess the continuing developments related to COVID-19 and work to establish a long range plan to provide educational services to our students moving forward if the school closure is eventually extended past the initial date of April 6, 2020.
Sincerely,
John French
Superintendent
Lewis County C-1 School District