FREMONT – Fremont Public Schools released information today related to:
- The number of students and staff absent due to testing positive for COVID-19.
- The number of students and staff in quarantine due to close contact exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or are awaiting test results.
- The number of students utilizing the virtual learning environment.
The breakdown of the numbers is as follows:
- Total number of students absent today for any illness: 173
- Number of Students not in school today due to Positive COVID-19 Test: 2
- Number of Students not in school today due to quarantine: 24
- Number of certified teaching staff not at work today for any reason: 17
- Number of employees not working today due to Positive COVID-19 Test: 0
- Number of employees not working today due to quarantine: 4
The number of students quarantined due to exposure is testimony to the impact of contact tracing, which FPS works together with Three Rivers Public Health Department to achieve. Quarantining individuals, due to exposure, greatly limits the spread of the virus and keeps others safe.
The District also released the current enrollment numbers for students participating in the virtual learning environment. As of today, 763 students are enrolled in the virtual school option – this represents approximately 16.01% of the overall student enrollment of 4,766.
The District does not release information by school or grade level in an effort to not share information that is personally identifiable. This would be in violation of FERPA (Federal Education Rights to Privacy Act) and potentially employment and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act) laws.
The Three Rivers Public Health Risk Dial for Dodge County declined from a 2.0 to 1.88 rating which is the yellow, moderate risk level. Positivity rate and positive cases in the county continue to drive the Risk Dial on a rolling three week average.
“The Risk Dial trending in a positive direction was anticipated based on the past several weeks’ data,” stated Mark Shepard, Superintendent of Schools. “With a return to Yellow and the changes in the State DHM (moving to Phase 4 of the reopening plan) taking affect next week, we will continue to monitor our District data, review our plans and look at potential changes moving forward.”
Lois Krohn, District coordinator of Nursing reiterated the importance of:
- If you are sick – stay home.
- If you have a fever – stay home until you are fever free for 24 hours.
- If you are waiting for test results – stay home.
- If someone in your household tests positive – stay home.
- If you have two or more COVID-19 symptoms, seek medical attention, consider testing, and stay home.
- List of known COVID-19 symptoms:
- Sudden onset of cough
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of taste/smell
- Body aches / fatigue
- Sore throat
“For the most part our families are doing a great job of self monitoring and keeping sick children
home,” stated Krohn. “Our ability to keep students in school is dependent on it,” she concluded.
Three Rivers Public Health Department, working with area school districts, continues to analyze
the data related to exposures at school and, to date, has not had a single positive test due to
transmission at school when all parties were wearing a mask. The District continues to identify
ways to strengthen protocols and keep students and staff safe
