As we plan for returning to school at SSISD, we recognize that this will be an unusual school year, but we remain committed to supporting your student’s learning, as well as his or her safety.

While it is not possible to eliminate all risk of furthering the spread of COVID-19, the current research suggests there are many steps schools can take to reduce the risks to students, teachers, staff, and their families significantly. SSISD’s plan, our SSISD COVID-19 Mitigation Plan Summary, can be found by clicking the link to right.

Below are a few key details that are critical for returning to school:

Screening:

To prevent COVID-positive individuals from entering our campuses, your student’s school will have the following COVID-19 symptom screening procedures in place:

• All staff will be required to self-screen daily.
• All visitors will be required to screen upon arrival. (Verbal Screening Questions)
• Campus visitation will be limited this year.  Please see our SSISD COVID-19 Mitigation Plan Summary for details.
• Parents must screen their children daily by proactively identifying when their student exhibits COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19.

Symptoms:

Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:

• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees
• Loss of taste or smell
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Shaking or exaggerated shivering
• Significant muscle pain or ache
• Diarrhea
• Nausea or vomiting

If your student has tested positive for COVID-19, exhibits COVID-19 symptoms, or may have been exposed to COVID-19, please keep your student at home and contact his or her campus nurse via telephone to begin the process of determining next steps.  You may contact your campus nurse at:

Criteria for Return to School

Conditions for return to school after an individual shows symptoms or gets a positive test result:

Either:

• 24 hours with no fever; and
• Symptoms improved; and
• 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared

Or:

• An acute infection test at an approved testing location (https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/) that comes back negative for COVID-19

Or:

• A doctor’s note indicating an alternate diagnosis

Mitigation

Our district will be taking multiple steps across each of our campuses to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.  For details, please see our SSISD COVID-19 Mitigation Plan Summary by clicking the link at the top right of this page.

Response

In the event of a COVID-positive case on campus, the campus will take the following steps:

• All areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case will be closed off until disinfected.
• All teachers, staff, and families of all students in that school will be notified.
• The local health department will be notified.

We hope that this information and the information found on our website give you confidence in our systems and our ability to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Josh Williams at 903-885-0999 or visit our website at www.ssisd.net.

While this will be a challenging year, we believe it can also be a great one, and we look forward to supporting your student in his or her learning journey.

• Texas Department of State Health
• Preventing the Spread of COVID-19
• Como Puedes Ayudar a Prevenir la Dispersion de COVID-19
• TEA 2020-2021 Public Health Guidance Document