Representatives of the Tino PTSA board attended a COVID-19 task force meeting at the FUHSD office today, with Superintendent Bove and her team, board members, representatives from the other PTSAs and PTSA council, teacher representatives and ASB student reps from all the schools. A lot of feedback was shared in both directions. The following is a quick summary of the discussion from notes taken by Tino PTSA.Please note, this is being shared by the PTSA board in the spirit of openness since we represent the community. This is not meant to replace any official information coming from the school or the district. It is also not an opinion of the PTSA board or any individual board member.
The PTSA will continue to share information with the community as it becomes available and if it has not already been shared through official channels. Discussion Summary:
- The situation and available information is rapidly evolving. The district is in constant communication with the Santa Clara County Health department and other authorities to quickly make decisions that are in the interests of the entire community.
- Decisions are being made for a limited horizon based on the information available. This is why event cancellation decisions have been made up to April 10 and not for the entire school year.
- The task force will continue to meet on a weekly basis.
Additional details on specific topics:Factors in deciding whether to keep or close events
- Size of gathering (how many people will attend)
- Mix of gathering (single school or multiple schools)
- Distance between people
- Length of gathering (how long the exposure will be)
On why schools have not being shut down (yet)
- Decisions are being made based on recommendations from the health authorities
- Based on data collated by the health professionals, there is currently no indication that school closures have any positive impact on slowing the spread of the disease
- Current analysis indicates that the overall student community will be safer attending schools than not
School closure: If schools were to close
- Level 1 closure: Staff will still go to work. Staff has been working on deciding what are the essential things that students need to know and can be delivered online
- Same level of experience cannot be matched online, as in physically attending school
- Students that get free or reduced-price meals at school, will still have access to that in some form. Schools might become temporary food banks, serving the community at large
Families with specific concernsThe district recognizes that there are families with specific concerns, whether the health of their student, risk of transmission from student to an elderly or at-risk family member, or general concern about the situation.
- School district recognizes that it is a family’s decision to decide to keep a child home
- Individual absences will be treated as excused absences.
- Teachers / school administrations have been working individually with students to make alternative plans
- Absenteeism is not a problem for FUHSD and school funding is not tied to attendance
- Current attendance for students and staff has not changed from normal trends
Comments? https://tinyurl.com/t443j2yThank you.Tino PTSA Board