December 23, 2020
Dear Crane Families,
At the Crane Elementary School District, we’ve been continuously tracking community transmission of COVID-19 cases and COVID-like illness in Yuma, as is our duty and responsibility to our students and staff. We’ve utilized the information presented on the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard and have been in regular communication with our local health department in order to have an accurate and up-to-date understanding of the situation in Yuma. Given that all three metrics (Cases per 100,000 individuals, Percent Positivity, and Hospital Visits for COVID-like illnesses in the region) have reached the substantial (red) transmission level, and we anticipate an increase in all three benchmarks, we have decided that it is in the best interest of our learning community to continue remote learning when school resumes on Monday, January 4, 2021.
Metrics taken from Arizona Department of Health Service
|
METRIC BENCHMARKS |
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 |
NOVEMBER 29, 2020 |
|
Cases per 100,000 individuals |
689 |
1,189 |
|
Percent Positivity |
26.7% |
29% |
|
Hospital Visits for COVID-like illnesses in the region |
9.6% |
10.8% |
**The dashboard metrics do not display information from the past two weeks due to potential lags in data.
Our schools will continue to provide free on-site support services such as campus supervision and meals for those families who need them. Transportation will not be available to students at this time. In order to help us mitigate the impact of potential exposure on campus, we urge you to find alternative options if at all possible. If your family opts for on-site support services, please reach out to your school by phone and register your student. Please keep in mind that our school and district offices will be closed on December 24th and 25th in observance of the Christmas holiday. The district office will be closed through January 1, 2021.
Free curbside meals are available to all children ages 18 and younger on Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., excluding holidays, at the following schools: Salida del Sol/Gowan, H.L. Suverkrup, Gary A. Knox, Valley Horizon, Pueblo, Ronald Reagan and Mesquite. These services will continue through Winter Intersession and after school resumes on January 4th. The service will not be available on the following dates, in observance of the holidays: December 24-25, 2020, December 31, 2020, January 1, 2021. Service will resume again on January 4th.
The Governing Board Special Session scheduled for December 29, 2020 has been canceled since we’ve made the decision to continue remote learning. We will revisit the topic of returning to in-person learning at our next governing board meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, 2021. We want to assure our Crane families that we will be prepared to transition to in-person when the community health metrics demonstrate that it is safe and prudent to do so. Thank you for your understanding during this time. Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Laurie Doering, Superintendent