Click here for a pdf of the full update including announcements

Since the school year started, the District has had several cases of COVID across the schools.  The contact tracing process, both here and in other communities, continues to show that spread is frequently occurring in indoor, unmasked social settings. For that reason, I want to encourage everyone to continue to be vigilant and follow COVID safety protocols when gathering with friends and family or attending events in an indoor setting. It’s also important to note that the average home is designed to get about 0.35 air exchanges per hour according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.  In comparison, our schools have a minimum of 4.0, more than ten times the ventilation found in homes.  We appreciate your help in keeping our students and staff safe!  As noted in the last newsletter, DESE has begun tracking COVID cases across the state on their own dashboard.  We will discontinue the district dashboard in lieu of DESE’s official dashboard, which can be found here.

I’m pleased to share that this week we honored two of our employee groups at each school and Central Offices–our incredible school nurses and clerical team (clerical pictures to be shared next week).  They have been on the frontlines of our work throughout the pandemic and their daily contributions to the ARPS community cannot be overstated.  Thank you to these amazing teams!