COVID Information

The Minnesota Department of Health recommends wearing a high-quality mask to help limit the spread of COVID-19, including variants like omicron. Examples of high-quality masks are N95 or KN95 masks, which are very good at blocking droplets. If you cannot get that type of mask, wear a well-fitting mask with at least two layers of tightly woven fabric. You can also layer a disposable mask under a cloth mask to increase effectiveness.

• Face coverings are required for all people in school (age 2 and up) including staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status beginning August 23. 
• Face coverings are required for all school bus transportation and district transportation.
• Exceptions to the face requirement are:
  • Children under age 2
  • Activity eating or drinking in accordance with classroom/program expectations
  • Outdoors
  • Minnesota State High School League activities during physical exertion (based on MSHSL guidance)
  • Facility rentals (same as MSHSL activities) (details provided by Community Ed)
  • A person with a disability who cannot wear a mask or cannot safely wear a mask for reasons related to the disability
  • When alone in a room or office

With schools at full capacity, social distancing won't always be feasible. However, schools will make an effort to social distance students and staff when there are opportunities. 

Building and Grounds staff members will continue to thoroughly clean our schools after each school day. Specialized cleaning will continue to occur for outbreaks of illnesses. Hand sanitizer stations will be available and everyone is asked to continue practicing good hand hygiene.

Contact tracing will be done with guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. As a district, we are not quarantining students that were within 6 feet of another student with COVID-19,  if both the infected student and the exposed student(s) correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time. This exception does not apply to teachers, staff, or other adults in the indoor classroom setting. When an individual has been identified to be a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, notification will be provided to families of students and to staff members by phone. Additional information will be shared via email or in-person depending on circumstances.

Close contacts are identified for being less than 6 feet from someone for 15 minutes or more throughout a 24-hour period.
    •    Child-child masked appropriately: No quarantine

    •    Child-child not masked appropriately: Quarantine

    •    Child-staff: Quarantine

When a positive COVID-19 case has been confirmed, staff members and families of students who may have been exposed will be notified by email while ensuring the privacy of the positive individual.

There is a difference between exposure and close contact. Exposure is when a student or staff member was in a classroom or other school space along with a student or staff member who subsequently tests positive. Close contact is when it is determined that a student or staff member was within six feet of a positive case for a cumulative 15 minutes within a 24-hour period. If the exposure is student to student and both are wearing well-fitting masks, the close contact does not result in quarantine.

When a positive COVID-19 case has been confirmed, notification is provided to families of students and staff that may have been exposed. Nurses and administrators collaborate in determining what that notification will look like given the exposure, based on factors such as changing of classes, role/responsibilities/interactions of the person with the positive case. 

• Early Learning, Elementary, Middle School: May be to the classroom, grade level, or schoolwide

• High School: Daily notification that only includes the class periods where there was exposure

• Branch Out: Currently notifying schoolwide due to student movement throughout the school

• Athletics and Activities: Notifying exposed team/club members

If you have had close contact (being less than 6 feet from the confirmed COVID positive individual for 15 minutes or more throughout a 24-hour period), you need to quarantine if you are NOT fully vaccinated.

Individuals who are asymptomatic and up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible do NOT need to quarantine.

For EVERYONE who needs to quarantine:

• Non-household (individual with COVID does not live in the home):
  • Stay at home for at least five full days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19. 
  • Count your last day of close contact with someone with COVID-19 as day zero.
  • Day one starts the day after your last close contact.
• Household (individual with COVID lives in the home):
  • If unable to isolate - 10 days quarantine followed by “test to stay” 5 days or 5-day quarantine
  • If able to isolate “test to stay” 5 days or 5-day quarantine

TEST TO STAY OPTION for unvaccinated close contacts (K-12+ and staff):
Test to Stay is an option for students and staff who are unvaccinated and have been identified as a close contact to a positive case to allow for continued in-person learning. Test to Stay participants must test daily for 5 days and may attend school if the test is negative and they are not experiencing any symptoms. Tests are available in the school health office while supplies last.

**NOTE: Given the limitations in implementing physical distancing and universal masking, among other layered mitigation, the CDC guidance does not apply to early childhood settings.

Positive COVID-19 cases are treated as a communicable illness and will be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Isolation is required for individuals with confirmed positive cases. See the guidance for students and staff below.

Calculating Isolation
Day 0 is your first day of symptoms or a positive viral test. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed or your test specimen was collected. 

STUDENTS

• If you tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status:
  • Stay home for at least 10 days
  • Isolate from others in your home
  • Wear a well-fitted mask if you must be around others in your home
• Ending isolation if you had symptoms:
  • End isolation after 10 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and your symptoms are improving.
• Ending isolation if you did NOT have symptoms:
  • End isolation after at least 10 full days after your positive test.

STAFF

• If you tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status:
  • Stay home for at least 5 days
  • Stay home for 5 days and isolate from others in your home
  • Wear a well-fitted mask if you must be around others in your home
• Ending isolation if you had symptoms:
  • End isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and your symptoms are improving.
• Ending isolation if you did NOT have symptoms:
  • End isolation after at least 5 full days after your positive test.
• If you were severely ill with COVID-19
  • You should isolate for at least 10 days. Consult your doctor before ending isolation.
    • Take precautions until day 10:
      • Wear a well-fitted mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public. Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask.
      • Avoid travel
      • Avoid being around people who are at high risk

Testing is recommended for individuals if they suspect COVID-19. If you require assistance in finding or scheduling a COVID-19 test, contact your school’s health office, or find a testing site near you by visiting the MDH COVID Testing page.

Inver Grove Heights Rapid Testing

The Inver Grove Heights Testing Clinic is open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the National Guard Armory (8076 Babcock Trail in Inver Grove Heights. The rapid antigen testing provides results to people within 1 to 3 hours. To schedule an appointment, click here.

Additional No-Cost COVID-19 Testing

MSP Airport (Terminal 1) – Saliva testing (PCR)

• 4300 Glumack Dr. (follow signs to the testing site on Level 2 of the Blue Ramp)
• 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. every day
• To schedule an appointment: mncovidtestingappt.as.me
• Parking will be available for all seeking a COVID-19 test:
  • Drive to Terminal 1 and into the entry plaza for the parking ramps. Signs will guide you from the inbound roadway to the clinic location itself.
  • Follow signage to Level 2 in the Blue Ramp.
  • Walk to the centrally located elevator lobby and follow signs to the clinic

COVID-19 Vault Saliva Testing at Home (click here)

COVID-19 Community Testing Sites (click here)

Public health officials recommend vaccinations for eligible individuals. If you require assistance in finding or scheduling a vaccination appointment, contact your school’s health office.

Additional vaccination clinics:

• For kids, visit the state's COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Teens page.
• For adults, visit the state's Find COVID-19 Vaccine Locations page.
• COVID-19 vaccines and boosters may also be available at your local health care provider or pharmacy (Costco, Cub, CVS, Hy-Vee, Sam's Club, Walgreens, or Walmart).
• Community Care Clinics at 2139 N. 44th Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55412. Walk-ins for all eligible age groups Mon-Sat 9-4.

For questions related to finding COVID-19 vaccination clinics, call the Minnesota Department of Health's COVID-19 hotline at 1-833-431-2053. The state's hotline is available weekdays (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

• We are following American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) guidelines regarding COVID ventilation standards.

• We have installed MERV 13 filters (same as last year).

• We will be turning our HVAC systems on before and after school to purge the building with 100% outside air.

• We will be bringing in the maximum amount of outside air that the air handling unit can handle based on outside temperature outside air.

All visitors to our schools and district buildings are required to wear a face covering.

Face coverings are required for all people (ages 2 and above), inside all School District 197 buildings, including indoor athletic/activity events, beginning August 23, 2021. This face covering requirement includes students, staff, and visitors regardless of vaccination status. School District 197 will follow Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) face-covering guidelines for athletes (i.e., face coverings are recommended and encouraged when individuals are not in active participation or competition).

Field trips may occur throughout the school year. Face coverings are required on all transportation. Individual venues may have health guidance in place that is more restrictive than our requirements.

Staff and students should monitor for COVID-like symptoms daily and are encouraged to stay home if not well.  COVID symptoms may include:  fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, fatigue, or loss of taste and smell.

Health staff will continue to implement best practices for separating ill students from healthy individuals as much as possible. For more information, contact the school nurse at your student's school.

Each school’s health office will return to illness protocols pre-pandemic. Sick students will be sent home if they have a fever (100.4 or above), vomiting, or diarrhea. Students with these symptoms will be expected to stay home for 24 hours after symptoms have subsided. All illnesses seen in the health office will be observed and assessed by a nurse as needed.

All staff and students should stay home when showing signs of illness.

Public input on our safe learning plan has been gathered through a variety of methods and forums.  

School Board
The school board conducts a monthly listening session prior to its first meeting of the month and a public comment session prior to the second meeting of the month. The board also closely monitors feedback received through the schoolboard@isd197.org email address along with each of the board members individual emails.  During the development of the various iterations of our Safe Learning Plans, the administration would share the plans with our community in a draft stage prior to sharing with the board.  This generated important community feedback for the board to consider as they approved plans.

Administration
In addition to reviewing and considering all input sent to the board, the district administration convened regular design team/feedback meetings with staff serving in a variety of roles.  During these meetings, the feedback from the community was shared.  Additionally, the design team members were charged with gathering and considering feedback from their sites and programs as we developed our safe learning plan.

Teaching and Support Staff
In that vein, the feedback (formal and informal) families provided to their classroom teachers and school/program staff was critical throughout our collective COVID journey.  The staff took this feedback very seriously and made both small and large changes to how they supported students as a result.

Strategic Framework and Community Surveys 
Right before the onset of the COVID pandemic, the district completed an extensive community input process to inform the development of a new strategic framework.  This framework, along with regular community-wide surveys grounded all the plans that were subsequently developed.  

Themes in the Public Comment
While specific suggestions varied significantly from person to person, here are the primary themes we heard.

• The critical importance of the health and safety of our students, staff, and community
• Health and safety are complex, requiring the need to balance physical health with social and emotional health.
• Regardless of the learning model, connections and learning needed to continue.
• Consistency with flexibility for families
• Appreciation for our staff and all the work they put into adapting to the ever-changing situation (for which we say thank you!)

If you want to provide public comment about the Safe Learning Plan, please CLICK HERE to send an email to our Communications Department.

Current data includes any student or staff member who was isolating due to COVID-19 for one or more days during the time period listed. The number of students or staff members out at any given date during the week would be smaller than this total for the week.