Hospitalizations, infections rise in hard-hit Mobile and Baldwin Until they create a plan, whats most likely to happen is a default to, the student is just home without resources and supports.. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. At Sylacauga City Schools, 21 employees, or 7% of the 287 employees eligible for the leave, have utilized the extra 10 days since it was first offered retroactive to June 1. Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education was updated on May 27, 2022, and can be found on the CDC Website. If a bonus is offered, Id never suggest anyone to decline the offer, said Elfriede Marsh, the AEA Uniserv District director who represents nine school systems in the Wiregrass. Follow the advice of your healthcare provider, as guidance depends on the clinical situation. In Jefferson County, Colorado, Letia Frandina changed her plan to enroll her children in a charter school after it announced masks wouldnt be required for the whole school day and that it didnt plan to offer live virtual instruction to students in quarantine. Follow new cases found each day and the number of cases and deaths in Baldwin County, Alabama.This page will be updated with the most recent data as frequently as possible. 254 0 obj <>stream South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley was the first in the state to receive assistance from a team of physicians and nurses staffed by the federal government. Keep in mind that immunosuppressed persons may shed virus longer and should follow longer isolation. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Alabama school boards from the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley adopted teacher and staff bonuses last year ahead of Christmas, and billed them as extraordinary compensation or premium pay for work performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It took a week to receive packets of printed work for her older children. See a showcase of all DHS webinars for local public health and school stakeholders. Were like: Dont start your year with a quarantine.. Baldwin Democrats urge schools to require COVID masks; superintendent While athletes can follow the five-day isolation, shorter isolation is for persons who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and improving by the fifth day of illness. It was very difficult to get it passed just once for employees, said Beverly Sims, an AEA District director who represents Madison County Schools. No. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The Baldwin County School System, the states third largest, became the first known district in Alabama to dip into its local funds and spend $2.3 million for a second round of bonuses to teachers and staff. Fit can be improved by wearing a cloth mask over it. Without a clear strategy, swaths of students could miss out on chunks of the school year especially if they are repeatedly exposed at a time when many have already fallen behind where they normally would be academically. Susan Hassig, an epidemiologist at Tulane University, said that quarantining should be relatively rare at schools following the CDCs guidance, which also includes universal masking. We havent discussed additional bonuses, but I can see an opportunity for consideration should this school year continue to be as tough as it is now, said Moore. Baldwin County superintendent extends mask mandate to September 21, possibly into October. This is why CDC recommends mask use for 10 days, even with shortened isolation or quarantine. There should be no other option but to support educators in all possible ways since they are on the frontlines going above and beyond to ensure student success during these dangerous times, said Amy Marlowe, the AEAs executive director. In Baldwin Union schools on Long Island, New York, middle and high school students at home will be able to stream lessons online. Parents, students, educators, and neighbors all benefit from independent education journalism. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. For COVID-19 questions, text COVID to 211-211. For at least 10 days after developing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19. Vaccinated people who are asymptomatic also dont need to quarantine after being exposed, the CDC says. Some schools are offering quarantining students live virtual instruction. Students at Magnolia Elementary School in Trussville wear masks as they are greeted by staff and teachers on the first day of school in 2020. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The Baldwin County School District will continue to provide opportunities for students age 5 and older, faculty, and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The Baldwin County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, genetics, disability, or sex in its employment practices, student programs and dealings with the public. The unending pandemic and the latest virus spread could be exacerbating concerns over teacher retention. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Botetourt County Public Schools All students, staff, teachers and visitors to any of the district's schools will be required to wear a mask, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. A suspected outbreak of COVID-19 in a school and ECE facility is defined as at least three confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 who meet the criteria for a facility-associated case, with onset dates or positive test results within 14 days of each other AND no likely known epidemiologic link to a case outside of the school setting. Have your child evaluated by your healthcare provider if they are immunocompromised, suffer from severe symptoms, or if symptoms persist. Many educators said that practice was untenable and ineffective last year. COVID-19 vaccine further strengthens the immune response and helps the immune system fight off infection and keeps people from severe disease and out of hospitals. **Please remember this applies only to COVID-19 and not to other communicable diseases. From cities to rural towns, stay informed on where COVID-19 is spreading to understand how it could affect families, commerce, and travel. It is very important that persons who have COVID-19 isolate for a minimum of 5 days away from members of their household, use a separate bathroom, not prepare food, use disposable utensils, and wear a well-fitting mask if they have to go into common areas of the house. But others are being sent home with only paper packets or are receiving no instruction at all a worrying indication that many students could face another year of stop-and-start learning. Persons who are contacts to cases should follow the same recommendations for mask wearing and hand sanitizing. Neither are planning to do so right now. I will monitor the spread and make sure we are moderate, Price told the school board. Contacts should monitor for symptoms, be tested on day 5 after exposure, even without symptoms, and wear their masks when out in public for 10 days after exposure. CDC has not changed mask guidance, at this time, and continues to allow a well fitted mask of tightly woven breathable material, such as cotton fabric, consistently and correctly worn over the nose and mouth. BCSD did not require masks the first week or so of school, but put a mandate in place as cases in Baldwin County spiked soon after classes began. In the second week of January, over 60 children are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alabama. . And the countys three main hospitals had their intensive care units filled up last month as the delta variant spread through the Gulf Coast. endstream endobj startxref Baldwin County Public Schools Uniform Policy 1. Stop the Spread of Rumors with Accurate Information on . Leeds City Schools was the beneficiary of support from NBA Hall of Fame basketball player and 1981 graduate Charles Barkley who, in May, gave $1,000 for each school employee within the district. Baldwin County is averaging 149 new cases per day over the past week. The community level of Covid-19 in Baldwin County is low based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent update from the C.D.C. Persons exposed to COVID-19 in a household should be tested 5 days after exposure, even without symptoms. One of Alabamas largest school districts will continue with its mask mandate policy for another two weeks beyond Labor Day weekend. This pages tracks the history of coronavirus cases in Baldwin County, both recent andall-time. Persons who have had COVID-19 disease can still be reinfected a few months or later after disease, especially with the emergence of variants. In addition, full-time school employees are getting a $1,000 annual retention incentive that will be paid out in semi-annual installments at the end of December 2022 and 2023. 2snU=~"#LBtu_cgK3@_|t[RB.q~h5lnSl^KP@jQA?7PT( >D"On'znFYA)da 2J(I\%r|Q,|o|Wn=M]=~k}&EH|)g' But while Baldwin County Schools is being praised for the second round of the bonuses, representatives with the Alabama Education Association representing public school employees in Alabama are pushing for the school system to join others in the state in offering up to 10 additional days of extended COVID-19 leave or sick pay. Some eliminated virtual schooling or created a separate virtual academy; promised educators they wouldnt be teaching in-person students and remote students at the same time; and didnt hand out laptops and hotspots to students without their own technology. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. She found other schools requiring masks for children under 12, and the county has since issued an order requiring masks for students in all types of schools. As much as I dont like masks, I am convinced we are right in requiring them. In Floridas Hillsborough County, some 5,600 students or about 2.5% of the student body were in quarantine or isolation as of Monday. The downward trend in COVID-19 cases may create a change in the Baldwin County School District's (BCSD) masking policy in the coming weeks. Having trouble finding what you are looking for? People who have symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, such as cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea, People who tested positive for COVID-19, with or without having symptoms, and have not yet finished their isolation period per public health recommendations, High-risk activities (for example, close contact sports, band, choir, theater), Key times in the year (for example before/after large events such as prom, tournaments, group travel). or sex in its employment practices, student programs and dealings with the public. The district is also hiring 10 part-time teachers to host live video sessions for elementary schoolers stuck at home and plans to contract with a virtual tutoring company to help older students. on March 2.Read more about the C.D . Back to school 2021: Heres where to find your Alabama school mask, COVID reopening plans, Where Im supposed to be: Black Belt program finds success in rural teacher shortage. 6/12 STRESS AND COPING. And to make matters worse, the grace and mercy many practiced in 2020 when the pandemic was new seems to have evaporated.. Tylers comments come after mask policies throughout the nation have come under fire by angry parents and politicians creating a polarizing environment over their use during the pandemic. Hoover City Schools topped the list statewide, reporting 218 cases, exceeding the district's previous total of 200 cases reported. For more information, please contact the Programs DirectorAngela Sullivan, Ph.D., at covidALK12@uab.edu or visit COVID Testing in Alabama K12 Schools. Allison Shelley for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action. N-95 masks remain the most effective mask at reducing transmission of respiratory droplets. BELTS: Must be worn with pants that have belt loops. Well be better prepared to do it this year because we had a lot of time to practice it last year, she said. Students with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions or disabilities that increase risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 should not be placed into separate classrooms or otherwise segregated from other students. Q a severe illness requiring hospitalization. The districts fully virtual option is set up as its own school, so its not open to in-person students quarantining. It is the policy of the Board of Education to comply fully with the requirements of Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and all accompanying regulations. Gulf Shores, the only city school system in Baldwin County, is currently offering 10 additional sick days. But superintendent Shari Camhi says teachers wont be working as closely with the quarantining students.