January 8, 2021

Dear Parents and School Community Members,

At last night’s Board of Education meeting, Mrs. Michele Posehn and Mrs. Amber Murad were sworn in for three-year terms, and Mrs. Dorie Harvey and Mrs. Jennifer Scharf were elected to the positions of president and vice president, respectively, for the 2021 calendar year. Congratulations to these four board members. Their commitment to the school community is very much appreciated. We look forward to having Mr. Mobus join us at the next meeting on January 28. A list of the board meeting dates for 2021 can be found on the district website. The meetings will continue to be conducted remotely until further notice, but please note they will begin at 7:00 pm, unless otherwise indicated.    

Given the tumultuous events unfolding in Washington, DC, I want to thank our entire staff for being sensitive to the emotional security of our students and for being such resilient role models. As a school community, we remain united in our commitment to a culture of acceptance and inclusion, which is the foundation for learning and positive social-emotional growth in our district. If any families have questions or would like resources on how best to address the events with your children at home, please contact your child’s school.   

We are pleased with our good fortune of being able to keep the schools open for in-person learning, and we are committed to enhancing instruction as we move through this atypical school year. We will keep everyone updated. And though the vaccine is on its way, now is not the time to let our guard down. We need to remain extra vigilant as we move into the post-holiday school calendar. No one wants a repeat of the rise in symptomatic individuals and positive test results that we experienced in the weeks after Thanksgiving. 

We remain deeply grateful, of course, for everyone’s cooperation and support, but I want to recognize our Valley View nurse, Mrs. Suczewski, for following up with staff and families and consulting with our local health official over the break, all in an effort to keep us safe in school. 

To help everyone stay informed, we will be adding a cumulative list of positive test results for the school year to the COVID Dashboard on the website. Though we still have comparatively few cases, we believe this step will help everyone stay apprised of the positive tests. The list will be updated on an as-needed basis. As of today, over the first four months of school, we have had 12 confirmed positive results, seven at Bayberry and five at Valley View.  

As for the “probable” or “compatible symptom” cases,” we continue to follow our health official’s guidance and notify anyone who is affected, but we will not include those cases on the dashboard unless we receive a positive test result. We will continue to notify everyone when we have an individual who has tested positive. More importantly, we will continue to practice our safety protocols, consult with our local health official, engage in contact tracing when necessary, and notify any close contacts of a positive or “probable positive” case. 

Thank you for your ongoing support. Have a great weekend.

Very truly yours,