PCS Superintendent Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
July 31, 2020
Parents/Guardians/Patrons/Staff,
Good evening. I hope everyone is staying cool.
As I noted yesterday, we received information that a Plattsmouth High School student-athlete that participated in strength and conditioning, basketball, and football activities last week tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, in the interest of the health and safety for our student participants and staff members, we have not had any on-campus or off-campus district-sponsored activities for students or staff members. We also have not had any outside groups using our facilities.
We are working in collaboration with the Sarpy/Cass Health Department regarding appropriate next steps. The health department is still conducting an investigation and contact tracing. Therefore, our facilities will remain closed until further notice. I hope to have more information Monday evening. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this very uncertain environment of COVID-19.
Return to School Protocols
Our PCS Fall 2020 Return to School Protocols were developed based on guidance from Governor Pete Ricketts, Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Commissioner Dr. Matt Blomstedt, and the Sarpy/Cass Health Department (SCHD), along with consideration of survey data from parents/guardians and staff members. Our return to school team included teacher representatives, administrators, nurses, school social workers, before and after school program representatives, school resource officers, nutrition services, transportation, custodial, and maintenance, and other stakeholders. Click HERE for a brief overview of some key items from the protocols for returning to school.
The Sarpy/Cass Health Department released a COVID-19 dial that includes four levels of risk, including green-low risk, yellow-moderate risk, orange-high risk, and red-severe risk of COVID-19. At the present time, the Sarpy/Cass Health Department has determined that we are in the yellow (moderate risk) level. We plan on returning to school with 100% of students in-person with a mask requirement and follow our yellow (moderate risk) protocols. If our risk level changes, we might also adjust our plan and implement protocols at the corresponding risk level.
Our principals and other staff members have been working on building plans that include specific details about what many of these protocols will look like in each of our buildings while considering the varying developmental need of our students. Please be patient with them as they finalize the specific guidelines for each building.
I anticipate that our protocols and the brief overview document will answer many of your questions, but we also developed a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document that is available by clicking HERE. This document is an ongoing work in progress as we progress into the 2020-2021 school year.
We are looking forward to seeing our students at PCS this fall. Thank you for the support of the Plattsmouth Community Schools during a very unique environment for all of us. #PLATTSMOUTHSTRONG
State of Nebraska (Governor Pete Ricketts)
https://governor.nebraska.gov/
Nebraska Department of Education (Commissioner Dr. Matt Blomstedt)
Nebraska School Activities Association (Executive Director Jay Bellar)
Sarpy/Cass Health Department (Director Sarah Schram)
https://www.sarpycasshealthdepartment.org/
Plattsmouth Community Schools (Dr. Richard E. Hasty)
We are thankful that we held our in-person graduation ceremony on Sat., July 25, 2020, to honor our Class of 2020. Check out the video of our graduation ceremony at https://pcsd.org/domain/38.
What can we do right now? All of us can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and “flatten the curve.” Please go to the page on our website at https://bit.ly/2xzwOu3 to stay informed about COVID-19, including how to protect yourself and your family. It should help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Wed., May 6 - Honors Night is posted on the Blue Devil Television (BDTV) page of our website. Go to www.pcsd.org > For Community > BDTV. Thank you to Mrs. Ayala for spending many hours preparing the virtual experience to honor our students, particularly our seniors. Thus far, we have approximately $950,000 in scholarships for our seniors.
Sat., May 9 - An audio Graduation Broadcast was live at 10:00 AM. Thank you to Mr. Halvorsen and Mrs. Ayala for coordinating the broadcast with our students.
Tue., May 19-A virtual broadcast of 8th-grade graduation is available at https://youtu.be/dI9y7ngkOS4. Thank you to Michelle Knight for preparing the virtual broadcast to recognize our 8th graders and their accomplishments.
Thu., July 16-A brief STARS event will be held to recognize our 2020 seniors that were in the top 10% of their class. This event is by invitation only and includes a variety of health measures to ensure the safety of the participants. Thank you to the Plattsmouth Education Foundation for coordinating this event for our seniors. Special thanks go to Brian Harvey, Sandy McKnight, and Dr. Jim McKnight.
Fri., July 17 - Unfortunately, prom is canceled for 2020. We are hopeful that we will be able to have prom in 2021.
Sat., July 25 - We are thankful that we held our in-person graduation ceremony on Sat., July 25, 2020, to honor our Class of 2020. Check out the video of our graduation ceremony at https://pcsd.org/domain/38.
Bond Construction Progress - We have a link on our website where you can access video showing the progress with bond construction on our campuses. Check out the latest bond construction video at https://www.pcsd.org/Page/3965.
We finished our successful summer food service program this week. Thank you to OPAA! for providing meals for families throughout the summer. Next week, we plan to send a food service survey to our families that have children signed up for remote learning.
Our school social workers prepared their last message of the 2020-2021 school year that includes tips for coping with COVID-19. Go to https://bit.ly/3bUCg9p and read their message.
If you or someone you know needs assistance with water, food, or other supplies, please contact the school social worker at the building where your child attends school. Early childhood-Bri Renninger at brenninger@pcsd.org, elementary school-Sarah Coniglio at sconiglio@pcsd.org, middle school-Sara Barada at sbarada@pcsd.org, and high school-Keryl Mines at kmines@pcsd.org.
2020-2021 State Aid Certification is available from the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) at https://www.education.ne.gov/fos/state-aid/. PCS will have a decrease of $565,916 in State Aid for 2020-2021. When we figure in the prior year (2018-2019) correction of +$128,469 that we received in 2019-2020, the difference between 2019-2020 State Aid and 2020-2021 State Aid is even greater. At the May meeting, our Board of Education approved the 2020-2021 Budget Efficiency Plan that can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2WU23u1. Scroll down to item 7.15.
The good news is that in 2020-2021 we estimate the second year of approximately 100 students entering kindergarten, as opposed to lower numbers from the immediately preceding years that are evident in our 1st grade (78 students), 2nd grade (88 students), 3rd, grade (93 students) and 4th grade (93 students). If you have suggestions for how our district might be more efficient with resources and address the decrease in State Aid, please submit your ideas in the Business Services/Budget section under District Topics on our Let’s Talk site at https://bit.ly/2Y9ua9N.
Stay safe. We are in this together. We are Blue Devil Nation! We are #PLATTSMOUTHSTRONG!
Best regards,
Superintendent Dr. Richard E. Hasty
I anticipate that our PCS Fall 2020 Return to School Protocols and the brief overview document will answer many of your questions, but we also developed a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document that is available by clicking HERE. This document will be an ongoing work in progress as we progress into the 2020-2021 school year.
Congratulations to our 2020 Board of Education members and newly elected officers representing Blue Devil Nation!
The Plattsmouth Education Foundation awarded education grants to Kristen Allen, Emma Shaner, Marla Smith, and Becky Stoskopf. Congratulations!
Campus Parent Portal will have a new look beginning July 9th. When you log into your parent portal it will look different. See below for instructions on how to navigate through your new portal. Remember to download the new app. The old app will be removed from the app store soon.
If you still need to register your student, click on the tab For Parents then Infinite Campus. Once you have logged into your portal, select “MORE” from the dropdown menu on the left-hand side of your portal page to access the Online Registration link. Click on “Online Registration” to begin.
Thank you to everyone that provided input into our PCS strategic planning process. Click the title above for more information.
