CAZENOVIA — On Jan. 12, Christopher DiFulvio, the Cazenovia Central School District (CCSD) superintendent, provided an update on the district’s approach to dealing with the current Omicron surge.
DiFulvio reported that CCSD is adhering to the most recent isolation and quarantine guidance from the Madison County Department of Health (MCDH).
According to the MCDH’s Jan. 7 guidance, an individual is considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and if they are not yet eligible for a booster.
An individual is “fully vaccinated and boosted” if they are fully vaccinated and they received the booster dose at least two weeks before their first date of exposure.
According to the guidelines, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must isolate for five days.
The guidance also states that if an individual is not fully vaccinated, or if they are fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster but are not yet boosted, they should quarantine for five days and wear a mask while around others for an additional five days.
If an individual is fully vaccinated and boosted or fully vaccinated and not yet eligible for a booster, no quarantine is required. However, they should wear a mask around others for 10 days from their last exposure.
The superintendent remarked that he understands the public’s confusion regarding the continually changing guidelines and definitions of the term “fully vaccinated.”
“I’ve sent out a couple of letters to families just to say, ‘Hey, we understand this is confusing and we’re right there with you,’” he said. “. . . What is really confusing to people is that basically, the CDC issues their guidance, and then the New York State Department of Health puts their take on it. Then it goes out to all the individual health departments. So, what F-M does [in Onondaga County] would be different from what Cazenovia School District would do, because we are going to follow the Madison County Health Department guidance.”
DiFulvio went on to commend the MCDH for being “one of the best local health departments around” in terms of helping to guide school districts.
The previous week, the health department introduced a simple, user-friendly COVID-19 interface on its website.
“You go to the website, and then you just follow the instructions,” DiFulvio said. “You say, ‘Hey, I just tested positive with COVID-19, now what?’ Or you say, ‘I was exposed to COVID-19, now what?’ [That tool] has made our contact tracing efforts as a school district much [smoother]. I am really appreciative that they did that. . . They issue the quarantine order right from the website once you complete [the questions].”
He also stated that in a recent meeting with the MCDH, the district was told that the guidance is expected to change again.
On Jan. 10, the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) issued a letter to school administrators and local health departments stating that it would be issuing revised isolation and quarantine guidance shortly.
According to the letter, both masking and distancing will continue to be required in school settings.
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for a minimum of five days, regardless of vaccination status. If symptoms persist, further isolation will be required.
The forthcoming NYSDOH guidance for in-classroom activities will recommend that all fully vaccinated students, teachers, and staff who have been exposed to an individual with COVID-19 may continue to attend or work at school, regardless of booster status, while quarantined outside of school.
“Continued attendance applies only to participation in classroom activities and taking the bus to and from school,” the letter explains.
The NYSDOH defines “fully vaccinated” as two weeks after the receipt of either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, or a full course of any other recognized vaccine.
The NYSDOH letter also provides updated guidance relating to extracurricular or after-school activities.
Individuals 12 years and older who are eligible for a booster but are not boosted, and who have been exposed to an individual with COVID-19, cannot participate in extracurricular or after-school activities. Apart from school attendance for instruction and bus travel, these individuals must adhere to a five-day quarantine at home.
Unvaccinated students, teachers, and staff who came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for at least five days (day 0 through day 5) after their last close contact. These individuals could be eligible for “Test to Stay” programs that would allow them to stay in school during the quarantine period.
Staffing
Like many school districts throughout the area, CCSD has been experiencing staffing strains as a result of an increase in positive tests and mandatory quarantining.
According to DiFulvio, the district’s COVID-related staffing issues are compounded by industry-wide staffing shortages that are not necessarily connected to the pandemic.
“We do have some areas where we have been running hiring campaigns and we’re looking to hire people on an ongoing basis,” he said. “We’ve made some changes; earlier this year we raised our substitute pay. Our director of curriculum and instruction, Ben New, also had a special training for our substitute teachers, which I think is improving their work experience in our district. We have a lot of subs, [both teachers and bus drivers,] that only sub in our district, which has really helped us.”
DiFulvio noted that despite the strain on all positions within the district during this time, the staff is working hard to remain open and union leaders have continued to push the narrative that school is the best place for kids and that being in-person is important.
The superintendent explained that the district has been dealing with the post-holiday COVID spike by looking at it in terms of ratios.
“The COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t care what your position is or what your age is, so if we have a staff member out, we are also likely to have several students out,” he said. “Our staff has been very flexible, so we have been able to shift people around.”
In the event that the district becomes short of bus drivers, the schools plan to continue to operate by delaying certain routes and notifying the impacted families via the school messenger system.
For more information on CCSD’s COVID-19 response, contact DiFulvio at [email protected] or visit cazenoviacsd.com.
