Superintendent’s Message
Monday, September 13, 2021
WCS Families:
I wanted to take this opportunity after three weeks of school to send out a brief communication and update on a few areas of interest.
Laptop Distribution:
Each building is in the process of distributing devices to their students and/or parents based upon grade level for all students in good standing from the prior year (good standing defined as device was returned and working properly). If you do not yet have your child’s device please make arrangements with your school office as soon as possible. The devices will be utilized for academic work and need to be viable for any days school is not in session such as waiver days or any potential school closures we may encounter due to COVID 19. There have been rumors that we are preparing to be fully online or remote with different rumors stating different dates. This is simply not true. If conditions require remote learning, we will be better prepared than we were in the past 18 months however there is no predetermined date or plan for this and we wish our preparations never have to be utilized.
Waiver Day:
Wednesday, September 22, 2021, will serve as a waiver day for Warren City Schools. Students will not have class on this day however will be given assignments to complete. Teachers and non-teaching staff will participate in academic in-service training, safety training and other sessions related to the work of their department. I apologize for the late notice; we wanted to see how device distribution was going before making a final decision.
COVID 19:
Just as in Trumbull County and in the State of Ohio, as expected, we continue to see COVID 19 cases on the rise. At this time we continue to work with local health officials to notify families if their child has been determined to be a contact and if they would need to quarantine. When we sent home letters we received a few questions regarding how it is possible that a person who tested positive has no contacts. This is determined based upon if they were wearing a mask or not, the days they were symptomatic, the day they received a positive test result, were they properly socially distanced from others, etc. Additionally, vaccination status also plays a role as to individuals in contact having to quarantine or not. With that said, we continue to follow the guidance from our local health officials and procedure they provided to us.
If your child has been determined to be a contact of an individual that tested positive for COVID 19, you will receive a call from a school representative and possibly the Warren City Health Department. If someone in your child’s classroom has tested positive for COVID 19, regardless of the distance they were from your child, the school will send home a letter with your child. If an individual in the school building has tested positive you will receive an electronic communication via Final Forms to the email address you have on file.
Sincerely,
Steve Chiaro, Superintendent
