January 12, 2021
Dear Students, Families, Faculty, and Staff,
This letter is to inform you that three additional Upper School students at NYA have tested positive for COVID-19. The students were last in school on Friday, January 8. Only one individual developed symptoms less than 48 hours after attending school. We have been directed to notify families of students who had close contact with this individual, and they must quarantine their child. The other cases will not require any additional quarantines as a result of close contact at school. We are currently completing calls and emails to contact families. Some students that were already on the quarantine list will have their timelines modified due to the date of close contact. If you do not receive a call or email tonight or tomorrow, then your child was not one who had close contact with this individual. However, there is a possibility that other staff or students came in contact with this person and may be exposed to the virus. As always, please monitor your child for signs and symptoms, and keep your child home if they are feeling ill.
The current Upper School remote schedule began on Tuesday, January 12 and is still scheduled to end on Friday, January 22.
The CDC provides specific guidance regarding individual quarantining and our ability to keep the school open for in-person instruction. Only students who are close contacts need to quarantine; family members of close contacts may continue to attend school and work as normal unless they should test positive or develop symptoms. This case has not affected the Lower and Middle Schools, and in-person instruction will continue in these divisions.
If you have questions specific to this case at NYA, please contact Ashley Moody, NYA Health Services Coordinator.
For general COVID-19 questions, dial 211 (or 1-866-811-5695). You can also text your ZIP code to 898-211 or email info@211maine.org. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, call a health care provider. More information can be found at www.maine.gov/dhhs/coronavirus or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.
It is our goal to maximize in-person instruction for our students. While doing so, we will continue to approach each situation with an abundance of caution, and with the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and families as our primary concern. I greatly appreciate your cooperation throughout this crisis and your assistance in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Benjamin J. Jackson
Head of School
