Welcome back, Elms Community!

Welcome back, Elms Community!

With the rise in COVID cases in the State of Ohio, the Elms Safety Team met over the break to determine a course of action for the start of the year.  Our work was guided, in part, by messaging from the Diocese of Cleveland.  At the recommendation of the Diocese, based in the belief that it is essential for students to remain face-to-face to maximize their growth, a virtual option will be offered throughout the Diocese only to families who test positive for COVID and where quarantining is required.

The Elms will return to in-person classes tomorrow, Tuesday, January 4th, and will remain in-person as safely as possible.  We spent the break deep cleaning and ensuring the buildings are ready for students to safely return.  We will continue to be vigilant with our mandatory masking, temperature checks, hand washing, classroom air purification and social distancing.  As we again navigate this together we will continue to rely on each other to provide the best education possible for your child.

We are committed to offering a virtual option for students who are quarantined and will only move to a complete school virtual option with the inability to staff appropriately or a severe outbreak in the school.

Today Summit County shared new Ohio Department of Health recommendations based on guidance released last week from the CDC.  To quote:  “Evidence shows that the majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to symptom onset, and in the 2-3 days after symptoms begin.  The CDC’s updated quarantine and isolation guidance takes the latest science and evidence into consideration, with a focus on testing, masking, and symptom monitoring – similar to Ohio’s reduced quarantine guidelines in the state’s ‘mask to stay’ and ‘test to play’ guidance.” (K-12 school quarantine guidance)

With this in mind, Elms protocols are:

  • Any staff member or student who has tested positive for COVID is required to quarantine for 5 days and can return, if they are symptom free, on the sixth day following symptom onset or following a positive COVID test.

  • Any staff or student who has been in contact with someone who is COVID positive can continue to attend school while fully adhering to our protocols unless they start to develop symptoms.

  • If you or your student develop symptoms, please schedule a COVID test.

If you have questions or concerns about our COVID protocols, please contact me.  Thank you, and welcome to 2022!

Sincerely,
Kevin Kelly
Academic Dean


Amber Hejl