Press Release: Updated
October 28, 2020
The Muscatine Community School District has been committed to being transparent with regards to communicating about COVID-19 cases. Starting this afternoon, updates will be available to you 24/7 via the ‘COVID-19 Dashboard’ found on our ‘Return to Learn’ website or by clicking here. Due to the increased number of positive cases in Muscatine County, we strongly feel this approach is best moving forward. Thus, we will no longer be continuing to send out building-wide communication each time a positive case is reported.
We will continue to communicate to families if their student is possibly exposed to an individual who tested positive for COVID-19. Our principals will also continue to communicate positive cases to the staff in their buildings when it impacts them.
The district will adhere to the Iowa Department of Education’s required metrics when requesting a building or the district to go to all virtual learning. Those metrics are: 1) the county must have a 15-20% rolling positivity rate AND 2) a building or the district must have 10% absenteeism related to COVID-19 before seeking approval from the Iowa Department of Education and the Governor’s office.
School buildings that are at/or above the 10% absenteeism rate include students who are in quarantine that are expected to be back in-person within the next few days.
Muscatine Community School District will continue to monitor new cases of COVID-19, the 14-day positivity rate, and absenteeism rate(s) in our buildings and provide that information via the ‘Return to Learn’ website. In addition, we will continue to reinforce the COVID-19 mitigation procedures previously put in place that include requiring face coverings when social distancing is not possible, nightly cleaning protocols, and encouraging thorough hand washing to help stop the spread of this communicable disease.
Once again we thank you for your patience and trust as we continue to navigate these challenging times together. Our ultimate goal is to remain transparent and honest with our communication with all of you while also protecting the privacy of the individuals.
Sincerely,
Muscatine Community School District Admin Team
