COVID 19 Updates
COVID 19 UPDATES
LASD Positive COVID-19 Data Tracker 2022-2023
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LASD Positive COVID-19 Data Tracker 2021-2022
LASD Positive COVID-19 Data Tracker 2020-2021
January 3, 2022
Dear Lehighton Area School District,
Good afternoon and Happy New Year to you and your family. We wish you happiness and health in the continued year.
In order for the Lehighton Area School District to continue mitigating the rise of COVID-19 in our community we will continue to review the updated CDC guidelines. While there has been an uptick in case numbers nationally, thankfully, symptoms in most instances have been milder than before and are subsiding quickly. However, we are concerned and will continue to monitor our local transmission levels in our community and individual schools. Moving forward, Lehighton Area School District's goal is to continue with in-person learning. We will continue to take all precautions and necessary measures throughout the District. We are also strongly encouraging all students and staff to wear masks moving forward as the best practice to ensure safety for everyone. Also, if your student is sick, or showing symptoms they should stay home from school. Any questions or concerns regarding COVID-19 should be directed to the school nurse.
In an effort to keep you updated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently announced some changes that reduce the isolation period for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. Please click here to see the attachment highlighting our current District protocol.
2021-2022 School Year Emergency Instructional Time Template.
Updated Masking Order FAQ's from PDE
August 23, 2021
The LASD Board of Directors approved the District Health & Safety Plan Revisions for the 2021-2022 School year. You may view the document by clicking HERE.
July 12, 2021
The LASD Board of Dirctors approved the District Health and Safety Plan revisions for the 2021-2022 School Year. You may view this document by clicking HERE.
December 22, 2020
COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines
*PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CHILD’S SCHOOL NURSE WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS RELATED TO COVID-19*
Isolation or Quarantine: What’s the difference?
Quarantine keeps someone who’s exposed to COVID-19 away from others in case they develop symptoms
Isolation keeps someone who is infected with COVID-19 away from others
I or my child had *close contact* with someone who was positive for COVID-19, now what?
After a *close contact*, the exposed person should stay home for ten (10) days after the date of exposure. Other family members, who were not exposed to the positive person, may continue to attend work and school. If the exposed person starts to experience symptoms, all household members should quarantine and the exposed person should get tested.
*Close contact* is someone who is in 6 feet of an affected person for at least a total of 15 minutes, exposure period is from 48 hours before the person started having symptoms or 48 hours before a positive test date.
I or someone in my house tested positive for COVID 19, now what?
People who test positive should isolate and stay home for ten (10) days and be free of symptoms before leaving isolation. All other household members must quarantine for the ten (10) isolation days of the positive person and then ten (10) days after.
****Please remember to adhere to these preventative practices:
- Wear your mask over your nose and mouth when outside of your home
- Wash your hands with soap and water, use hand sanitizer when hand washing is not possible
- Keep your distance, stay six (6) feet away from others
- If you or your family member is sick, call your healthcare provider for further guidance
November 23, 2020
LASD Attestation Ensuring Implementation of Mitigation Efforts
On November 23, 2020, the Lehighton Area School District Board of Directors passed a motion to continue with the current educational model until the COVID spread requires the District to change the educational model based upon the full attestation provided by the PA Department of Health.
April 16, 2020
LASD Planned Instruction Letter
Please click here to view the Lehighton Area School District Planned Instruction Letter.
April 13, 2020
With the announcement from Governor Wolf closing all schools in the commonwealth for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school term, we want to assure the Lehighton families that our teachers and administration are committed to continuing a learning experience at home for your children. We understand that you may have questions regarding the continued education plan, this year’s grading process and plans for next school year. Over the next several days the district will be providing more detailed information as we navigate through these complex issues. Please continue to visit our district website and follow the district’s social media sites for updated information for all important school announcements.
Thank you to our entire school community of students, parents, administration, staff, and volunteers for a truly memorable school year to date. Now, more than ever, we will need the support of everyone around us as we work together to make the remainder of the school year a success.
April 9, 2020
Schools to Remain Closed through the Remainder of the 2019-2020 Academic Year!
At 10:30 a.m. this morning, Secretary of Education, Pedro Rivera has announced that all K-12 Schools, Higher Education Institutions, Pre-Schools, and Pre-K Counts Programs will remain closed through the end of the 2019-2020 Academic Year.
April 8, 2020
Meals will not be delivered to the satelite locations or available Thursday, April 9, 2020, Friday, April 10, 2020 or Monday, April 13, 2020. However, parents/guardians will be able to pick up additional meals for those days at the Elementary Center today, Wednesday, April 8, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Regular daily meal pick up will resume on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Please continue to check the district website's main page for additional updates and information.
April 6, 2020
The Lehighton Area School District has made one key change to our lunch pick up process. Beginning today, we're asking that you open your trunk of your vehicle and the lunch(es) will be placed in the trunk. We are trying to follow strict adherence to the social distancing guidelines of 6' distance.
April 3, 2020
The Lehighton Area School District has updated the district website's main page. Links to COVID-19 Updates, Educational Resources, Parent/Family Resources, Meals, Continuity of Education Summary, and PDE School Guidance have been added to the main page. Please check the website regularly for updated information.
April 2, 2020
The Lehighton Area School District continues to evaluate the challenges COVID-19 has placed on the LASD Community.
Beginning Friday, April 3, 2020, LASD will expand its free breakfast and lunch offering by establishing an additional satellite location to serve students along with our current pickup sites.
At each location parents/caregivers may drive thru and pick up meals for their children. Lunch for the current day and breakfast for the following day will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.
The pickup locations and times are as follow (please note that time slots have been adjusted slightly to accommodate the additional Nis Hollow Estate satellite location):
Weissport Borough Park: 10:30 – 11 a.m.
Parryville Fire Company (359 Main Street): 11:15 – 11:45 a.m.
Nis Hollow Estates (312 Lower Nis Hollow Drive): 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Dinkey Memorial Church (1742 Dinkey Road): 12:45 – 1:15 p.m.
Mahoning Academy (2466 Mahoning Drive East): 1:30 – 1:50 p.m.
Additional information including addresses of the satellite locations can be found on our website @ www.lehighton.org under the COVID-19 Update link.
April 1, 2020
Parent/Guardians will find below the summary of the Lehighton School District’s continuity of education plan for all students. Please take the time to review the information and if you have any questions please contact your child’s teacher and/or building administrator. Again, we want to thank the entire Lehighton Educational Community for their patience and understanding throughout this process.
Please click here to view the continuity of education plan for Lehighton Area School District.
March 31, 2020
The Lehighton Area School District continues to evaluate the challenges COVID-19 has placed on the LASD Community.
Beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020, LASD will expand its free breakfast and lunch offering by establishing 4 satellite locations to serve students along with the pickup site at the Elementary Center.
At each location parents/caregivers may drive thru and pick up meals for their children. Lunch for the current day and breakfast for the following day will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.
The pickup locations and times are as follow:
Weissport Borough Park: 10:30 – 11 a.m.
Parryville Fire Company (359 Main Street): 11:15 – 11:45 a.m.
Dinkey Memorial Church (1742 Dinkey Road): 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
Mahoning Academy (2466 Mahoning Drive East): 1:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Additional information including addresses of the satellite locations can be found on our website @ www.lehighton.org under the COVID-19 Update link.
March 30, 2020
Lehighton Area School District will begin our continuity of education program, today, March 30, 2020. Our teachers are working this week with the goal of becoming acquainted with an online learning environment for themselves and their students. Our staff is committed on being available for our students, but ask in return for patience and flexibility throughout this process.
The district will work with our students and families during this time in an effort to bring some comfort and educational structure and/or learning opportunities to them during this difficult time. All students should expect to be contacted by teachers and/or district staff members during this week. The teachers may use different modes of contact via email, phone etc. All students will be given ample time to work on assignments or activities, given all the other happenings that may be occurring at home.
The district has compiled a list of educational resources that can be found on the homepage of our website. Many of the resources will be part of the learning plan your child may receive. Please feel free to email your child’s teacher or principal with questions you may have throughout this educational process.
Thank you again for your understanding during this evolving situation.
March 27, 2020
I hope all of you are healthy and well. Today you are receiving a message regarding an update on the Continuity of Education plan being developed for Lehighton Area School District. We would first like to share what the Pennsylvania Department of Education describes as the Continuity of Education:
Continuity of Education is the broad term given to educational practices that occur in the event of a prolonged school closure. To provide a consistent and equitable foundation for this work, PDE partnered with Intermediate Units (IUs) and Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PATTAN) to develop guidance and evidence-based resources around continuity of education, and to provide technical assistance to school leaders.
Schools may provide continuity of education through either or a combination of the following:
- Planned Instruction: Planned Instruction is formal teaching and learning similar to that which occurs in a classroom setting. Within this process, teachers use planned courses of instruction of new concepts/skills aligned to grade level standards.
- Enrichment and Review: Enrichment and Review consists of informal activities that reinforce or extend students' prior learning. New standards and skills are not addressed through Enrichment and Review.
The plan will focus on three key areas for delivering our instruction to the students of Lehighton. The delivery of the education will be: 1) Reasonable 2) Appropriate and 3) Delivered in a “Good Faith” effort. In addition, this educational delivery gives our teachers and staff the opportunity to teach with new and creative measures. As mentioned in several other updates, this new style of teaching and learning will require patience and understanding from everyone involved in the process.
As part of the plan we will be sharing updates with the students and their families throughout the process. Again, please make sure that your contact information is updated in the Parent Portal of PowerSchool. If any changes need to be made, please contact the school to assist with making the revisions.
Monday, March 30, 2020, starts day one of the Roll Out for the Lehighton Area School District Continuity of Education Plan. The first goal is to begin the process of “Engaging All Students”. Teachers will begin reaching out to the students and parents to assess what resources they have available to help guide the instruction. This information and data will be collected and the district will work with students and their families to assure they have the tools needed to receive the instruction that is being delivered by their teachers.
We look forward to working with our students and their families during the delivery of the Lehighton Area School District Continuity of Education Plan. If you have any questions during this process, please contact your child’s teacher and/or building level administrators.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we learn and navigate through this “new normal” together.
March 26, 2020
My hope is that this communication finds you and your family in good health. As the Lehighton Area School District continues to develop the Continuity of Education Plan (CEP), we want to thank you for being patient and supportive over the last several weeks. Moving forward the district will be working to develop learning activities for our 2400 students. We understand that this continues to be a difficult time for our students as you deal with the challenges associated with the COVID-19 virus.
As we navigate through the CEP development and process we want to develop a sense of routine for our students, staff and educational community. As part of the beginning phases of the process our teachers and/or staff will be reaching out to families and engaging in discussion with parents/guardians in an effort to engage the students and prepare them for extended learning opportunities. Our goal is to continue learning through structured programs and activities that will be teacher directed.
As our administrators, educators and students begin this initiative on Monday, we ask for your support. We know that there will be many questions and we may not have an answer immediately, but we ask for your patience and understanding throughout this everchanging process.
March 25, 2020
The Lehighton Area School District continues to evaluate the situation of coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the Lehighton Educational Community. As we continue to keep parents, guardians and the community updated of this evolving situation, the health and safety of our students and staff is our priority. Please take the time to update your home/cell phone information and any changes to your emails by emailing rkarpowicz@lehighton.org or lfrey@lehighton.org to assure the district has your most up-to-date contacts.
March 24, 2020
With the Governor’s recent notice of extending the closure of schools until April 9th, we are working on a plan for the “Continuity of Learning” for the students of Lehighton Area School District. We ask for your patience as the district begins to roll out additional extended learning opportunities for our students. We will continue to update parents and guardians via email, social media and phone contacts, throughout this process.
Please take the time to update your information within the Parent Portal of the PowerSchool System to assure the district has your most up-to-date contact information.
As another resource for students and families, the district has made available several WiFi hotspots throughout campus. You may connect to LASD-Public with no password; just accept the terms of condition as required by school district policy. Hotspots are located near the school buildings and multi-purpose stadium.
As we work together to offer continued learning options for our students, we also understand that this time can be stressful for our children and their families.
Below please find a resource that we wanted to share as we continue to work through this outbreak.
Tips for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
March 23, 2020 (P.M.)
Governor Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Education Extends School Closures through at least April 6
This afternoon, March 23, 2020, Governor Wolf and the Department of Education (PDE) announced all schools in the commonwealth will remain closed through at least April 6 as a result of the COVID-19 response efforts. The closure order could be extended beyond April 6 if necessary to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19.
Under the new timeline, school buildings would reopen on April 7 for two days to allow school administrators, teachers and other staff time to prepare classrooms, set up cafeterias, schedule transportation and arrange other business operations. Students would return to school on April 9, unless extending the closure is needed in response to the situation with the virus at that time.
Lehighton Area School District will continue to work on sharing information and educational resources to students and families throughout the community during the time of this extended school closure.
In addition, we will continue to serve meals for our students and families. Please see below the information as it relates to the meal distribution plan for LASD:
https://www.lehighton.org/cms/lib/PA02203712/Centricity/Domain/24/Meals%20Flyer.pdf
Please continue to visit the LASD website at www.lehighton.org for updated information.
March 23, 2020 (A.M.)
Dear Lehighton Area School District Parents/Guardians:
We hope that this information finds all students, staff and families of the Lehighton Educational Community safe and staying positive as we navigate through this unprecedented situation. During this time, we want to make an effort to keep everyone informed on the impact of the COVID-19 virus and the impact on the educational environment here in Lehighton and across the Commonwealth of PA. Please use the district webpage as a resource for students, staff and/or parents and guardians. We all know that this is a difficult and stressful time for everyone, but it is important we work together and take the recommendations from the healthcare professionals with the utmost importance.
The health and safety of our students and staff continues to be our top priority. As the number of cases of the coronavirus continue to increase across Pennsylvania, we want to ensure families that the Lehighton Area School District is working to stay well informed and keep the community updated as well. The district will be posting updated information on a daily basis by 11:00 a.m. on the district homepage and we also encourage you to visit the building websites and department links for additional updates and information as it relates to specific grade levels and educational resources.
As many of our students struggle to understand the issues and impact of the coronavirus pandemic we wanted to share with you resources that may assist with helping children deal with COVID-19:
While children are concerned, the most important thing to do for them on a daily basis is to assure them they are safe and not to be afraid. If they have questions, attempt to research the topic of their question and have discussions with them. Another area of importance is to attempt to develop a routine and/or schedule for them while at home. Below you will find a great resource in relation to developing a schedule for students while at home during this extended break:
https://www.wholechildcounseling.com/post/how-to-plan-your-kid-s-schedules-during-school-closures
Again, thank you for your cooperation, patience, and commitment to doing everything possible to protect our educational community and entire nation at this vulnerable time.
March 16, 2020
Dear Lehighton Area School District Parents/Guardians,
The Lehighton Area School District continues to evaluate the situation of coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the Lehighton Educational Community. At this point the district has not had any reports or received any communication of positive cases of COVID-19 within the school buildings. As we continue to keep parents, guardians and the community updated of this evolving situation, the health and safety of our students and staff is our priority. Please ensure that all student data and contact information is updated within the PowerSchool Program.
At this time, the Lehighton Area School District school buildings will be closed and are currently scheduled to reopen on Monday, March 30, 2020. All school-related activities are cancelled or postponed during the closure. While our school buildings are closed, LASD will continue to serve meals in an effort to support our students and community. The meals will be available for pickup beginning on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at the Elementary Center and run through Friday, March 27, 2020. Detailed information regarding meal pickup can be found on the district website https://www.lehighton.org/
While the continuation of learning is important, the health and safety of our students, staff and entire local educational community outweighs that importance. Our administration team has decided that during this school closure, no assignments will be graded nor will they be mandatory. An effort will be made by the Lehighton Area School District to encourage students to stay in the “Learning Mode” in the event we have an extended shutdown. Resources and information will be shared with students and their guardians that may include learning activities and other programs that encourage learning. The assignments and/or activities will not be required or graded, but will be intended to reinforce or extend the learning opportunities while at home. We ask that parents/guardians encourage their child’s participation in the independent learning activities while at home for an extended period of time.
The district administration building will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the above listed closure dates for the school buildings. Limited access will be granted to public individuals during their visit, if needed.
We continue to monitor the situation and will share/post any additional information/ resources on our district website as it becomes available. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to address this health and safety concern that is affecting our entire Lehighton Educational Community.
March 13, 2020
The Superintendent of the Lehighton Area School District would like to notify parents and guardians that at the time of this message there has been no reported cases of the Coronavirus within our school district. Again, there has been no reported cases of the Coronavirus within our school district.
With that being said, the governor has announced that all K-12 PA school will be closed for 10 business days effective Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27, 2020. The Commonwealth will continue to monitor Covid-19 within the state and at the end of the 10 days will reevaluate and decide whether continued closure is needed. At this time, it is the best decision we can make based on public health guidance and to mitigate future risks to our students, staff and entire Lehighton Educational Community and the state of Pennsylvania.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will share/post any additional information/ resources on our district website as it becomes available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to address this health and safety concern that is affecting our entire area