• COVID Update — Jan. 12, 2022 

    Dear Members of the Brighton School Community, 

    Thank you for your patience as guidance shifts almost daily. Everyone is doing the very best they can and we appreciate your understanding as we all work together to keep everyone safe. Please review the new protocols that have just been released by the Monroe County Department of Public Health and an information letter from the New York State Department of Health by clicking here.  

    They serve as an excellent summary of each circumstance that one might be in and are the guidelines that our school nurses will be working from. They are updated and effective immediately. Please note some important highlights and information: 

    • Isolation periods have been reduced from 10 to 5 days if symptoms have resolved or are improving. Individuals in this circumstance can return to school. 
      • They are expected to wear a well-fitting mask at all times. 
      • Eating for these individuals will take place only when they can be distanced. Each school has made arrangements based on their level and capacity. 
      • School nurses are informing families of these requirements when discussing a return after 5 days. Please discuss these requirements with your children before they return to school.   
    • Students who tested positive and are returning after 5 days can return to participation in school-based extracurricular activities (not including athletics) on day 6. Students must wait until day 10 to begin their return to athletics process.   
    • Students who are not positive but considered exposed to COVID (within 6 feet of a person who is COVID positive for 15 minutes or more without a mask) do not need to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated (defined as two shots of Moderna or Pfizer and one shot of the Johnson and Johnson). However, if these individuals are eligible for a booster and not boosted, they cannot participate in school-based extracurricular activities (not including athletics) until 10 days after the exposure. 
      • Fully vaccinated AND boosted may return to participation in extracurriculars. 
      • Not fully vaccinated or fully vaccinated but eligible for a booster and not boosted cannot return to participation in school-based extracurricular activities.   
    • Students who are not positive but considered exposed to COVID (within 6 feet of a person who is COVID positive for 15 minutes or more without a mask) DO NEED to quarantine for five days if they are NOT FULLY vaccinated (defined as two shots of Moderna or Pfizer and one shot of the Johnson and Johnson). “Test to Stay” is available for these students if they remain asymptomatic. 

    As of this afternoon, the County lists the following numbers of students and staff as currently in isolation due to having tested positive for COVID-19: 

    Council Rock Primary School: 6  

    French Road Elementary School: 15  

    Twelve Corners Middle School: 25  

    Brighton High School: 49 

      

    Please note that many other individuals may have tested positive since the last update and are already out of isolation (with the change from 10 to 5 days). Our standard measurement and reporting has been and will be the number of positive cases in isolation as of the publication of the County list on Wednesday afternoons. We are no longer receiving official quarantine data in the same manner but will continue reporting positive cases in isolation.   

    Attendance at school is an entirely different measure and this causes some confusion. Many members of the school community will notice a far greater number of absences than the case numbers listed above. This is because individuals may not have yet made it to the County list, they may be self-isolating or they are in quarantine as a close contact but this has not been reported or listed as of yet. It may also be due to other illnesses, which we would encourage you to still stay home or keep your children home if you’re not feeling well. 

    We are currently seeing a bit of a leveling off of our absence numbers. Today, our percentage of K-12 student absences was 13.6% (459 students). It is normally closer to 5%. Approximately 9% of our staff was absent today. That is normally closer to 7%. We still do not anticipate a need to “go-remote.” Although it has been quite a challenge for our staff and required patience on the part of students and families, we are very much able to operate safely under these circumstances and do not anticipate a change in this approach. 

    Finally, we have been notified that we will again be receiving at-home test kits for distribution to students. We will be sending these home on Friday, Jan. 14 and using the previous “opt-out” list to determine who we will send them with and who would rather pick kits up at Central Office, 2035 Monroe Ave. between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Please contact Dan Goldman via email if you wish to change your status for test distribution at daniel_goldman@bcsd.org.  

    Once again, thank you for all that you are doing to keep each other and yourselves safe and healthy. Best wishes and go Bruins! 

    Kevin  

    Kevin McGowan, Ed.D. 
    Superintendent of Schools