RSU 38 Covid Update

January 5, 2021

Dear Students, Staff, and Families,

As we return to school this week I wanted to take an opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  The beginning of 2021 offers the hope of the country, state, communities and our school district beginning to put this pandemic behind us and look to a return of some sense of normalcy in the coming months.  That is not to say that the pandemic is over or we can change our current protocols - now more than ever we need to keep safety as our top priority!

What follows is a quick update concerning Covid-19 cases from during the holiday break. These numbers were reported to me yesterday.  This reflects conversations with Maine CDC and DOE as well.  One staff positive case was reported December 24th and contact tracing did take place based on the information provided.  All staff and students were notified and are reflected in the current counts as due to the holiday break close contact quarantining ended On Monday, January 4th. 

Elementary (K - 5)

Middle (6 - 8)

High (9 - 12) 

RSU 38 Staff

Positive cases (includes probable positives)

0

0

2

1

Quarantining

4

4

5

5

Awaiting Test Results

5

3

2

4

I am happy to report that all our schools are open at this point!  These numbers are consistent with those that were tracked in the month of November and December.  RSU # 38 has been very successful at keeping our covid numbers low and it is because of your diligence in completing the screener and following our protocols around masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing.  

Obviously things can change so I would like to remind everyone to continue to complete the daily Ruvna Covid Screening each morning before coming to school. On December 22 Readfield Elementary went remote with a positive case and that single case impacted a total of 45 students and staff across three schools in our district, not to mention the need to go remote for the rest of the students and staff at RES.  The forecasted surges may or may not arrive in RSU #38 in the next several weeks but I encourage everyone to err on the side of caution.  By working together and keeping lines of communication open we have been successful in keeping our students and staff safe and our schools open. We can make it to the light at the end of this tunnel! Be safe over the next few weeks and again Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Jay Charette 

Superintendent of Schools