Yesterday, the CCHD directed TESD to stop contact tracing due to the high level of community spread. This means that TESD nurses and administrators will no longer be contacting families of students who are considered close contacts to positive COVID-19 cases in classrooms, common areas or on school buses. The CCHD stated that universal contact tracing is an increasingly less effective and practical tool to disrupt the spread of infection throughout Chester County. Basically, the community spread is so significant that it is very difficult to pinpoint where each case is coming from. Chester County's positivity rate was at an all-time high last week at 30.6%.

CDC guidelines have shifted so that students who are positive for COVID can return to school after five days without a negative test as long as symptoms are "improving."

Both of the above mean that there are currently contagious COVID cases in our schools with no way to track them. The only mitigation tool left to us is mandated, universal masking.

The School Board will vote on the District’s current Health and Safety Plan THIS Monday, January 24, 2022, at 7:30 PM at Valley Forge Middle School. Members of the school community who would like to provide feedback on the plan may share comments via email at TECovidFeedback@tesd.net. All comments received in the TECovidFeedback inbox related to the Health and Safety Plan will be shared with the School Board and TESD Pandemic Team and will be considered along with comments provided during the public meeting.

What can you do?

• Send an email to gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, and TECovidFeedback@tesd.net telling them that you support continued mask mandates in our schools, regardless of vaccination status. Copy the Chester County Health Department at cchd@chesco.org. [At the end of this update is an email template for your convenience]
• Encourage your friends, family and fellow community members to voice their support of continued masking to the school board and Chester County Health Department.

Each time we post these updates, more and more protective, COVID mitigation layers have been removed from our schools and we cannot let masks be one of them.

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Email template - Please, feel free to customize and personalize.  Note: you must include your name and township for the school board to recognize the email.

To: gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, tecovidfeedback@tesd.net, cchd@chesco.org

Subject: Support of continued mask mandate in TESD schools

Dear Dr. Gusick, Dr. Groppe, TESD School Board, and CCHD,

I am writing to voice my support for a continued mask mandate in all TESD schools, regardless of vaccination status. With our county's positivity rate at an all-time high, CDC guidelines that those positive for COVID can return to school after 5 days, and the elimination of close contact tracing, now is not the time to make masks optional.  The only way we can keep our students in school, in person, as safely as possible is with mandatory masking.  The only way we can keep our vulnerable community members safe is with mandatory masking.

We appreciate that the TESD school board has recognized the importance of a universal mask mandate for TESD schools thus far, and we implore you to continue to do so, until medical guidance and data shows that changes can be made.

Thank you,

[Your name]
[Your township]