Important Update on St. Paul District Operations

December 30,2020

Dear St. Paul Community,

I am pleased to inform you that on Monday, January 4th a district team will begin reviewing and revising our phased reopening plan for the return of students to in person instruction in our district. On December 23rd the governor announced that the health and safety metrics that are in place and were required for districts to meet prior to allowing students back in school will become “advisory” and will no longer be a mandate as of January 1, 2021. This change in policy from the governor is based on the research and evidence that has been gathered regarding the spread of Covid-19 in school based scenarios, this research started last March and continues to support the possibility that schools, when proper safety protocols are adhered to can be operated safely and effectively even though we still have not come close to meeting the community wide metrics required for the reopening of many other types of businesses. We will continue to provide comprehensive distance learning when school resumes on January 5th and our plan will be reviewed and modified as necessary after the first of the year. The reopening plan will be reviewed by Marion county health officials and will be presented to the St Paul school district board of directors prior to its release to the public. I hope that we can present our plan to the board at an emergency meeting prior to the end of the first week in January.  I understand and appreciate the overwhelming desire for all of us to have our students back in school as soon as possible. It is imperative that we have a detailed plan that includes safety screening, sanitation, social distancing, and mask wearing requirements as well as quarantine and contact tracing procedures in place before returning any students to school. I will post regular updates on the district web page to keep you informed of our progress. Currently St Paul is still experiencing a rise in cases with 31 reported on 12-19-20, five of these cases are new. We will continue to watch this data closely and take it into consideration with respect to our district plan. Thank you for your patience as we continue to develop a safe reopening plan for students and staff.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. Wehrli

St. Paul School District 

Superintendent/Elementary Principal