Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

As the COVID-19 situation evolves, Moorhead Area Public Schools continues to collaborate with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Our goal is to ensure the health and safety of students and staff. Minnesota has 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases. None of the cases are in our community.  Each case is travel related. At present, MDH and the CDC do not recommend school closure.

Why keep schools in session? We believe that our children are safest at school and that we can best support our community by keeping our schools in session. The CDC and MHD state:

• People 19 years old and younger have a low risk of contracting the virus.
• Many students need access to nutrition provided by schools.
• The workforce is reliant on schools, especially health care workers who tend to the sick.
• Youth tend to congregate together in other places when school is closed.
• School closure has not proven to reduce the spread of the virus.

Following the guidance of the MDH, today we are announcing several changes to our schedule to help keep our schools and community safe.

Mitigation Strategies

Acting in an abundance of caution, the following mitigation strategies will be taken by Moorhead Area Public Schools effective through March 30 at which time we will re-evaluate.

Activities and Events: MAPS will support social distancing by limiting large group gatherings.

• Student assemblies will be postponed or cancelled.
• Large group gatherings will be postponed or cancelled.
• Community Education Adult Enrichment and ECFE classes will be cancelled.
• School community committees will be cancelled.
• Facility rentals will be cancelled through April 30.
• Travel outside of the Fargo Moorhead area for school events, field trips, professional conferences or other purposes will be restricted.
• After school practices, child care and normal at-school, small group activities will continue as scheduled.

Prevention:

• Prevention curriculum is being implemented. Students and staff are reducing their risk for getting and spreading viral respiratory infections, including the flu and the common cold, by taking simple steps which will also prevent coronavirus. These include:

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a sleeve or a tissue.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, or use alcohol hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Building custodial staff continue to disinfect and wipe down surfaces, and deep cleaning and disinfecting was done over break. Busses have been disinfected and will be disinfected after each route. All staff will work together to regularly clean and disinfect classrooms and work areas. 

Medically fragile students:  As always, Moorhead Area Public Schools will continue to honor parent requests for student absences and encourage parents to do what they feel is best for their child. Students will not be penalized for COVID-19 related absences.

Communication

More is known by the hour on the Coronavirus. To ensure that you have the most up to date, reliable information, we have created a COVID-19 page on our district webpage. Our information comes from experts at the MDH and CDC who work with infectious diseases daily. Please check the link for information and regular updates. The Central Office will continue to update and re-evaluate decisions as we receive guidance from the state.  

It is important we work together and use recommendations from public health officials. The precautionary measures we are taking should minimize the spread of any illness. The coronavirus outbreak is an unprecedented challenge that will take all of us working together to overcome. Thank you for your partnership and help.

Sincerely,

Brandon Lunak,

Superintendent