Return to Learn 2020 - 2021

Update January 15, 2021

Dear PCSD Families,

The Portage Community School District is grateful to all the individuals who continue to reach out as soon as a health issue is suspected in order to support the efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.  The current situation requires this collaborative effort. The Columbia and Marquette County Health Departments are working with the district as contact tracing, close contact notifications and determining return to school dates are processed. Physical distancing is critical in all settings and interactions in mitigating the spread. Face coverings continue to be an important part of the overall plan. 

As of today the Portage Community School District has been impacted by 141 total cases of COVID-19 since the start of the school year. Currently, 14 of the 141 individuals are actively in isolation and the other 127 have returned to the district. Other individuals across the district are currently in quarantine due to close contacts that they have had from both inside and outside the district. All of the additional cases originated from outside the school district, and were not a result of internal spread. The school nurses work through the information and all of these individuals in case they develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.  Currently all of our schools are open for in-person learning. 

The community spread continues in both Columbia and Marquette Counties. The district needs your help to follow these steps on a daily basis. Contact school before sending your student(s) if they meet any of the criteria:

• Someone in the household has been tested for COVID-19 and results are pending
• Someone in the household is ill with COVID-19 symptoms (see list below)
  • Fever (temperature 100.4° F or higher)
  • Cough
  • Trouble breathing
  • Chills
  • Muscle/body aches
  • Loss of sense of taste or smell
  • Runny nose or nasal congestion
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

If students show up, or begin having symptoms during the school day, contact with the family will be made by the school nurse or health services staff for pick up. Each situation is unique, therefore the next steps are provided at that time.

Prevent Further Spread

The following guidelines will help to prevent further spread of illness at our school:

• Notify the school if your child or someone in the household is tested for COVID-19 and keep your child home
• Notify the school if your child is diagnosed with COVID-19 and keep the child home
• Notify the school if your child had contact with someone who you know was diagnosed with COVID-19 and 
• Keep students home from school if they are sick.
• Encourage key habits: frequent handwashing, cover coughs and sneezes, use of face coverings in public, and staying home as much as possible.

If you have any questions, please call PCSD School Nursing and Health Services staff at 608/742-4879, extension 4022. We are all in this together. Let’s each do our part.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Sween
District Administrator
Portage Community School District

Valerie Hon
District Nurse
Portage Community School District

Daily Student Self Screening for COVID-19

Expectations:

All students reporting to a school building or school-sponsored event will answer these screening questions before reporting to the school building or other site.

Student absences shall follow usual procedures for reporting personal absence to the school office. Please include symptoms of illness when reporting.

If you answer YES to any of the questions, you will stay home.

Parents/guardians shall complete this self screening tool daily before sending their child/children to the school bus, school building, or school-sponsored event.

Do you have any of the following symptoms, even if your symptoms seem mild? (YES or NO)

• Cough (new onset or worsening of chronic cough)
• Shortness of breath
• Fever (100.4°F oral equivalent or higher)
• Chills (unusual for you)
• Muscle pain
• Sore throat (unusual for you)
• Runny nose
• New loss of taste or smell
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea or abdominal pain
• Fatigue

People with these symptoms or combinations of symptoms may have COVID-19. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), you should contact your health care provider and ask to be tested. If you do not have a health care provider, complete an online health screening assessment, or go to a community testing site .

If any of the following apply to your household, notify the school nurse immediately.

1. In the past 14 days, have you tested positive for COVID-19?  Stay home and follow the isolation instructions provided by the testing site, or local health department. 
2. In the past 14 days, have you been tested for COVID-19 because you had symptoms?   Stay home and follow isolation instructions provided by the testing site, or local health department.
3. In the past 14 days, have you been tested for COVID-19 but were asymptomatic?  Stay home and follow quarantine instructions provided by the testing site or local health department.
4. In the past 14 days, have you been advised to quarantine due to close contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19? Stay home and follow quarantine instructions provided by the local health department. Even if you get a negative COVID-19 test result, you must complete the 14 days of quarantine.
5. In the past 14 days, have you cared for, resided with, or had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19? Stay home and follow quarantine instructions provided by the local health department.
6. In the past 14 days, have you traveled outside of the United States, or been on a cruise ship or river cruise voyage?  Stay home and follow DHS Guidelines that state to self quarantine and self monitor for symptoms twice each day, for 14 days.

This guidance is subject to change based upon local, state and national guidance.

Additional note: If you traveled within the United States, including in Wisconsin but away from your local community, DHS Guidelines state to self monitor for symptoms twice each day, for 14 days while maintaining 6 feet social distance and properly wearing a mask when you go out. Here is a tool to track your symptoms. See page 4 for the chart.

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Public Health Madison Dane County
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services Symptom tracking tool, page 4
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services Travel