March 14, 2022
Dear HUUSD families & staff:
Today our schools began operating, under the direction of the VT Agency of Education’s updated COVID-19 protocols. We are currently following the general COVID-19 guidance for all Vermonters issued through the Vermont Department of Health.
We have updated our COVID-19 corner of the HUUSD website to reflect our current protocols. As a reminder, you can visit this page for weekly updates on cases of COVID-19 considered infectious while in school.
For the past few months, HUUSD was notifying families broadly regarding COVID-19 in our schools, contacting anyone in the same classroom with a person who has tested positive for any length of time. This practice differs from narrowing down to a close contact (a person within another 3 feet for more than 15 minutes), identifying a much wider swath of people than contact tracing.
VT Secretary of Education Daniel French has directed us that school districts should not continue notifying presumptive cases, nor use other contract tracing type measures. The AOE and VDH has recommended that everyone should focus instead on monitoring for symptoms. Anyone who is symptomatic should stay home. The Vermont Department of Health recommends that anyone with symptoms test. Tests may be accessed through your school nurse. Staff and students may return to school when fever free for 24 hours without using medication and symptoms have significantly improved. As such, HUUSD will no longer be sending out individual COVID-19 notifications, beyond the tally of cases updated weekly on the website.
Our schools continue to have a supply of rapid tests. To request a kit, please contact your school’s health office.
Respectfully,
Allison Conyers, HUUSD COVID coordinator
Kaiya Korb, HUUSD building-based COVID administrator
Brigid Nease, HUUSD Superintendent of Schools
