Dear Baldwin-Whitehall School District Community:
Over the past 23 months, the Baldwin-Whitehall School has taken incredible measures to serve students during the most difficult times imaginable (or even unimaginable). Children have been placed at the heart of every decision, searching for ways to meet their academic, social, and emotional needs. As a District, we have worked together to respond to all of the challenges presented to us, emerging as a leader, not only within the region but also at the state and national level.
Decisions the District had to make throughout the pandemic have tried to balance the academic and educational needs of children with health and safety considerations. Sometimes the tradeoffs were not fair, but we have managed to keep children in school and staff at work to a very large degree with few setbacks.
Our District Health and Safety Plan is built upon the foundation that county and local level community transmission rate data can be used to shift between levels. Therefore, our local data supports the shift to the MODERATE LEVEL, with changes to the mitigation strategies being implemented in a gradual manner.
Effective Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the District will shift to masks being optional, but highly recommended for students in grades K-12. All staff will be required to continue wearing masks adhering to existing expectations. This strategy is consistent with the "retail model" that we see in many places of business. We will track any changes in transmission/infection data with the goal of adjusting the mandate for staff as early as Monday, March 7, 2022.
All other mitigation strategies of spacing, cafeteria arrangements, and cleaning protocols will remain in place, with the goal of continuing to explore any adjustments as data sources may allow.
Please note, masking on school buses for all staff and students is still mandated under the U.S. Department of Transportation order that is effective through March 18, 2022, and will be enforced by the District.
As we adjust our mitigation efforts to the pandemic, I think it is critical that we do so in a moderate, purposeful manner without changing too many variables too quickly. Each of these measures is a step in the direction of (new) normalcy.
Sincerely,
Randal A. Lutz, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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