FREMONT – Fremont Public Schools released information in regards to COVID-19, the district’s COVID-19 Blueprint, and other related school updates.
The breakdown of COVID-19 numbers is as follows:
Total number of students absent today for any illness: 163
Number of Students not in school today due to a positive COVID-19 Test: 6
Number of Students not in school today due to quarantine: 130
Number of certified teaching staff not at work today for any reason: 34
Number of employees not working today due to a positive COVID-19 Test: 8
Number of employees not working today due to quarantine: 22
FPS Superintendent of Schools, Mark Shepard, stopped in the KHUB morning show on Thursday, November 5. He discussed that positive COVID-19 cases within FPS have remained low.
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 District also released current enrollment numbers for students participating in the virtual learning environment. As of today, 423 students are enrolled in the virtual school option – this represents approximately 8.84% of the overall student enrollment of 4,786.
Mark Shepard also shared that students learning through the virtual learning option continue to decrease.
Fremont Public Schools continues to support online and in-class students by providing tutoring services. The District has partnered with Midland University to provide certified teachers from FPS, future teachers from Midland University, and other Midland students with knowledge of a variety of content areas.
Students are able to get one-on-one tutoring in a breakout room in a Zoom video conference. FPS offers a morning session (8:00 am – 11:00 am) and an evening session (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm) each Monday and Thursday. High School tutoring is currently available only in the evenings.
The Three Rivers Public Health Risk Dial for Dodge County increased from 2.0 to 2.5 – to mid-orange. As a reminder, the Dial utilizes eight data points on a rolling three-week average.
Shepard stated that even though the community risk dial is rising, the school has not seen a rise in positive COVID-19 cases and transmission within FPS.
There is no school today and tomorrow, November 6. These two days are designated for teacher preparation of lessons in the online learning management system and professional development.
Please continue to follow Nebraska’s campaign to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the 3 Cs. Families should avoid crowded places, close contact with others, and confined spaces. Remembering to avoid the 3 Cs can help keep you safe and slow the spread in your community. Fremont Public Schools, working with the Three Rivers Public Health Department, would like to remind families of good hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Wash your hand frequently
- Avoid touching your face and wear a mask
- Wear a clean mask every day
- Stay home if you feel sick
- If you are waiting for COVID-19 test results, stay home
Yesterday evening, Fremont Public Schools announced a change to the Blueprint according to the level of risk associated with the Three Rivers Public Health Department Risk Dial. Until this point, Fremont Public Schools had planned to transition from in-class learning to a hybrid or fully remote model when the risk dial moved to the Orange and Red levels.
That will no longer be happening after 29 school districts and local health departments met yesterday and discussed the statistics and guidelines from the past three months of being in school.
In accordance with guidance from Three Rivers and Elkhorn Logan Valley Health Departments, FPS is announcing that they plan to keep students in class as much and for as long as possible.
During the KHUB Morning Show Shepard detailed the events of this meeting.
“We have learned a lot in the past three months and because of the terrific work our schools are doing, we have found that keeping students in school is the safest place for them to be. School staff and students are wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitizing on a frequent basis. Because of all of these efforts, we have found very little transmission of COVID-19 among students and staff members within our schools.” said Terra Uhing, Executive Director of Three Rivers Public Health Department.
The full press release can be found here.
