Dear SDMA Families and Staff,

COVID-19 activity has continued to decline this past week across the country, state, and local community. In addition to the weekly update to COVID-19 data, please review the important information below about free meals, learning options for the 2021-2022 school year, etc.

Free Summer Meals in the SDMA: Free Meals for Kids 18 and Under will be available for pick up again this summer from June 3-August 12. Please fill out this online form by May 24th if you are interested in picking up meals one time a week for a week's worth of breakfast and lunch for your kids this summer. Distribution of meals will tentatively be held at the High School on Thursdays from 3:45-5:00 pm. Please contact SDMA Director of School Nutrition Michelle Kloser if you have any questions.

Mask Use in the SDMA: The CDC issued new guidance last week about the use of masks for fully vaccinated individuals. While this new guidance may apply to many areas in our community, guidance for schools has not changed. The use of cloth face coverings is required in the SDMA through the end of the 2020-2021 school year. It is anticipated that the school board will decide on any masking requirements for the MHS graduation ceremony and summer school at the Board meeting scheduled on May 24.

SDMA Learning Options for 2021-2022: On Monday, May 10, the school board approved the SDMA Instructional Plan for the 2021-2022 school year. Families will once again have the option to have children attend school in person or virtually through the Wisconsin Virtual School (WVS) program. The application window for students to enroll in online classes through WVS for the fall semester is now open. The SDMA encourages families to learn more about the SDMA Virtual School Option on the district website and consider how it may or may not benefit each child. Families who choose the virtual school option for their child(ren) must commit to the online platform for a minimum of a semester. The early application deadline for the Fall 2021 semester is June 1, 2021 for those families that are confident their child(ren) will attend school virtually next year. Fall applications will be accepted until August 6, 2021 for those who need more time to make a decision.

Vaccine Information: Everyone in Wisconsin age 12 and older is now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination and appointments are readily available in our community.  Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for individuals 12-17 years old. Parents may wish to reach out to your family health provider and consider the Student Vaccination Guidance developed by the SDMA when considering a vaccination for your 12+ year old child. I am hopeful that more restrictions could be lifted in our schools next school year if case counts go down and/or more people choose to get vaccinated.

Vaccination Student Exclusions Reminder: Students who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine due to being a "close contact", so long as they are asymptomatic. If fully vaccinated students are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms (whether or not they were a close contact) they will need to follow the district's protocol for exclusions with either a full or abbreviated quarantine period.

Wisconsin COVID-19 Data
According to the Department of Health Services website, the 7-day average in Wisconsin for new cases is 394 today (down from 491 last week) and percent positivity is 2.8% today (down from 3.1% last week). 

Dunn County COVID-19 Data
According to Monday's update on the Dunn County Facebook page, disease activity across the county is still "High" with 27 active cases in Dunn County and 1 person hospitalized due to COVID-19 (41 and 2 last week). The weekly burden measurement for Dunn County dropped a level today to 73.7 (moderately high) and the seven-day average for the percent positive indicator has dropped to 1.9%. The COVID-19 vaccine series has been completed by 14,898 Dunn County residents- 32.8% of the county population (up from 14,236/31.4% last week). 

SDMA Student COVID-19 Data
There has not been a confirmed COVID-19 student case in the school district since May 5. With 2,833 students participating in the in-person instructional model, the SDMA currently has 0 active student case- 0.00% [down from 1 active case (0.04%) last week]. The breakdown of active student cases includes:

• Menomonie High School-     0 (down from 0 last week) 
• Menomonie Middle School-  0 (down from 0 last week) 
• Menomonie Elem. Schools-  0 (down from 1 last week) 
• Menomonie 4K-                     0 (same as 0 last week)

Student COVID-19 exclusions across the district have also declined over this past week. Today, 1.09% of the students in the SDMA were excluded from school due to close contacts, symptoms, or other COVID-19 concerns (down from 1.59% last week). The 7-day average for student exclusions across the SDMA is 1.55% (down from 2.01% last week). 

The current breakdown of SDMA student exclusions includes:

• Menomonie High School-      1.75% (up from 1.21% last week)
• Menomonie Middle School-   0.69% (down from 1.55% last week)
• Wakanda Elementary-           0.29%  (same as 0.29% last week)
• River Heights Elementary-    1.98%  (down from 4.53% last week)
• Oaklawn Elementary-            0.63%  (down from 1.89% last week)
• Knapp Elementary-                1.22%  (same as 1.22% last week)
• Downsville Elementary-         0.00%  (same as 0.00% last week)
• Menomonie 4K-                     0.00%  (down from 0.61% last week)

SDMA Staff COVID-19 Data
There has not been a reported case of COVID-19 by SDMA staff since the beginning of February, and there have only been a few staff exclusions related to COVID-19 this past week. There are still "0" active COVID-19 cases with SDMA staff. Today, 0.18% of the 565 district staff members were excluded from work for COVID-19 reasons (up from 0.00% last week). The 7-day average for staff exclusions across the SDMA is 0.30% (up from 0.08% last week). All SDMA faculty and staff members had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and approximately 70% of SDMA employees reported that they have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series. 

There are 10 days of school left in the 2020-2021 school year.  Thank you for your continued support of our schools in the SDMA.

Sincerely,

Joe Zydowsky