Milton Public Schools releases COVID-19 Positive Case Process

As living in a Covid-19 world is our current reality, we recognize that our schools do not exist in sealed bubbles, and we will likely experience positive cases in the Milton Public Schools. Our active safety protocols – mandated mask wearing for anyone who enters our schools, social distancing throughout all buildings, daily at home prescreening for all students and staff, increased cleaning and sanitizing, increased ventilation, half of the school population for in-person learning, vigilant hand hygiene and more – are designed specifically to decrease the chance of the spread of the virus inside our schools.

When there is a positive case in MPS, communication will be a key component. We have developed a Milton Public Schools COVID-19 Positive Case Process and invite you to read it here. Knowing when and why you will be contacted, and by whom, will be important as we safely navigate this school year together.

Milton Public Schools COVID-19 Positive Case Process

Reference Document:  MPS Covid Protocols. Updated regularly by the Director of Nursing and follows the most current CDC guidance.

1. In some instances, the school will be the first to know of a student who has tested positive for COVID-19.  When this happens, Kim Coughlin, Director of Nursing, ([email protected], 619-610-1089)  is notified by phone and email and will then  notify:
   • MPS Personnel: Superintendent James Jette; Assistant Superintendents Dr. Glenn Pavlicek and Dr Karen Spaulding and the Building Principal
   • MPS Physician Dr. Trish Guglietta
   • Milton Board of Health, Caroline Kinsella
2. The Director of Nursing, Kim Coughlin, will begin the process of coordinating contact tracing with the Milton Health Department. The principal will need to be available to produce class rosters, seating charts, team/activity rosters and staff contact tracing form data when asked. Once the list of those who need to quarantine is identified as well as the last date of exposure and return to school date, the Director of Nursing will share that information with the principal.
3. If a staff member will need to quarantine based on the contact tracing, the Director of Nursing  will call and email Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources Dr. Karen Spaulding, and will cc the building principal.
4. Director of Nursing, Kim Coughlin will update the Quarantined Students spreadsheet with student names and other requested information. Some items will be completed as communications are made.
   • If students are bus riders, check here for further instructions.
   • If students are in sports or activities, >check here for further instructions.
   • If students are ESL and parents request contact in their home language, check here for further instructions.
5. Once the names of students and dates of quarantine are on the spreadsheet, Caroline KInsella from the Milton Board of Health will initiate contact with anyone considered a close contact of the positive student.
6. The Principal and building Administrative Assistant will use the following school based communications.
   • Email to Staff in the school who were not affected.
   • Email to families of students in the school who were not affected
7. The Director of Nursing will be available to answer any questions.

Common questions:

• Does my other child need to quarantine? No. That’s considered secondary exposure. Just watch for symptoms.
• Will my child be marked absent? No. Your child will be a virtual learner until the quarantine is completed; you’ll receive an email today or tomorrow with more details.
• Do I need to get my child tested? If your child shows symptoms, yes. Otherwise, just watch for symptoms and keep them home and away from others as much as possible.
• What does close contact mean? How do we know if my child was at risk? Use this flow chart to guide the conversation. It is available on our website for parents as well. (This has come in handy for staff conversations as well.)
• Will my child have the same teacher while they are quarantined at home? Yes.
• The quarantine dates are 15 days…I thought we only had to quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine begins the day after the last day of exposure.

The Director of Nursing will be in regular communication with the Board of Health and will update the building principal and Superintendents

Bus Considerations that may affect who needs to quarantine:

• Assistant Superintendent Dr Glenn Pavlicek will contact First Student if the positive student was a bus rider.
• Does the child ride the bus both ways or only in AM or PM?
• Does the child only ride the bus on certain days of the week?

Athletic/Activity Considerations that may affect who needs to quarantine:

• Did the team travel to an away event at the time of exposure? Contact Ryan Madden or Activity Advisor.
• Did the team have a competition (home or away) at the time of exposure? Ryan Madden (or Activity Advisor)  should contact the Athletic Director at the other district(s) so they are aware.
• Were all levels of the teams/groups (C, JV, Varsity, understudies, cast, crew, managers, jazz, pep, etc) together during the time of exposure?

ELE Considerations for communications:

• Do you need an interpreter on the phone call? Contact RK Johnson at [email protected]
• Do you need documents translated? Contact RK Johnson at [email protected]