rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
TROY — Troy Area School District will go back to school on Friday, Aug. 27.
In June, the board of education passed their healthy and safety plan for the school year. Staff of TASD reminded parents of students of the health and safety plan for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
Superintendent Dr. Eric Stair posted a letter to parents on the school district’s website, along with a downloadable attachment concerning the Department of Health’s recommended guidelines on back to school. The post reads as follows:
“Dear Troy Trojans,
Our June 15th the school board approved our Health & Safety Plan for the 21/22 school year.
As a school district we will abide by, to the maximum extent possible, the current recommendation for schools as issued by the Center for Disease Control, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and other applicable laws and regulations.
All information regarding our plan for reopening schools on August 27th is posted on our school district website.
Sincerely,
Dr. Eric T. Stair”
According to the attached document under 3(a), the American Rescue Plan Act and U.S. Department of Education requires that each school’s health and safety plan recommends universal and correct wearing of masks.
According to this report, ARP and ESSER also recommend modifying facilities to allow for physical distancing, handwashing etiquette, cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, and more.
The school board voted to approve the plan with a 9-0 vote in favor of the plan.
With guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pennsylvania Department of Education released guidance for COVID-19 prevention is K-12 schools on July 16 and updated it as of Aug. 13.
According to the release, “The guidance developed by the CDC continues to highlight the importance of public health prevention strategies. Schools should continue to utilize prevention strategies such as masking, physical distancing, testing, ventilation, handwashing, and staying home with sick to prevent the spread of infectious disease.”
In the masking portion of the guidance, the CDC highlights that schools may consider universal masking based on the needs of the school community, such as level of community transmission and local vaccination coverage.
According to this same section, it says that “in general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors.”
However, for public transportation portion, regardless of the school’s own mask policy, masks are required to be worn by passengers and drivers on school buses.
The CDC also recommends maintaining at least three feet of physical distance between students in classrooms, with additional layers mitigation efforts.
In a recent Facebook post, the district noted that they are following CDC guidelines when addressing COVID-19.
They held a special meeting on the topic Aug. 25.
The school district asks that anyone with any questions regarding their health and safety plan, please contact the schools directly. Contact information for each school can be found at www.troyareasd.org as well as the mentioned document in this article.