Dear Fairbanks Families,
We hope Thanksgiving break provided time to rest and relax. As we head into the holiday season, we ask our school families to continue to symptom check students every day and exercise caution to protect yourself and others while out this holiday season. Please watch the brief video below about our school protocols:
Fairbanks Local Schools Update - December 2, 2020
Please read our updates below:
Learning Level Update
Fairbanks Local Schools is currently in Learning Level 2 and plans to stay in this model until mid-January.
Here are important pieces for this transition:
Students will return to their Fairbanks Team or Panthers Team for this transition. This is the same model as we started the school year. If you have questions about this schedule or need your family information, please reach out to our building or central offices.
Extracurricular and Co-curricular activities will move forward as scheduled. There will be enhanced protocols with certain activities. We will continue to monitor the impact these activities have on school operations and adjust as needed. For extracurricular and co-curricular activities to continue, focusing on protocols is a priority.
Continued focus on Symptom Assessment, Staying home when ill or awaiting a COVID-19 test in household, masking, hand hygiene, and deep cleaning.
Our Parent and Staff Work Groups will meet in December to review decision making frameworks, evaluate current plans, and adjust planning if needed for the remainder of the school year. If you have any interest in being a part of these work groups, please send an email to Adham Schirg at adhamschirg@fairbankspanthers.org.
COVID-19 Reporting & Operational Update
Based on increase COVID-related absences in the district and state and local health data, our course of action for the immediate future of Fairbanks Local Schools is as follows:
All grade levels will begin Learning Level 2 (50% Hybrid Model) on Monday, November 30th.
Fairbanks Athletics for Grades 7-12 are paused. Athletics can resume on Monday, November 30.
Practices and meets for extracurricular and co-curricular activities, such as Robotics and FFA, will be evaluated by building principals and decisions will be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Please continue to monitor our district communications and COVID-19 reporting to see the status across our schools.
Test Results and Quarantines over Break
Today, the CDC issued a statement that could potentially reduce quarantine periods to 10 days if the individual isn’t showing symptoms. We are awaiting direction from our state and local health partners on what this means for our district.
If your student received a lab confirmed or probable COVID-19 diagnosis or enters quarantine due to a close contact, please email Adham Schirg at adhamschirg@fairbankspanthers.org. This will allow our school based team to determine next steps and potential impact at school. We appreciate your attention and help with this issue.
Food Services in Learning Level 2
The district will be able to again offer meals for students’ remote learning days. Families will pick up meals on Wednesdays. If you are not already signed up for meal pick up and would like to be, please complete the form below:
Safety Measures and Vigilance
As we see the spread of COVID-19 in our community, practicing mitigation efforts becomes even more important. This includes:
Vigorous daily symptom assessment
Daily hand hygiene practices
Cleaning and sanitizing practices
Facial Coverings/Masking
When in public, keeping socially distanced from others
Staying home when ill, or when someone in the household is tested for COVID-19
Quarantine Guidelines
There have been many questions regarding close contacts and quarantines over the last several days. Please reference the following document to help answer some of those questions. If you still have any questions, please reach out to our nursing and administrative teams. Please check out the document here: Quarantine Guidelines.
COVID Updates & Information
Please refer to the internal and external resources below for information related to COVID-19:
Thank you for your continued partnership and communication. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at adhamschirg@fairbankspanthers.org.
For Fairbanks,
Adham