COVID-19 Information
Please be assured that PRWS faculty and staff understand and share your concern for the well-being of our students, our employees and our school families during this high-stress time. Given the complex and rapidly evolving situation, we encourage you to visit the public resources linked below for the most detailed and up-to-date information on COVID-19. Please bookmark this page as we will continue to update it with information as it relates to PRWS.
Any questions regarding our COVID-19 plans can be emailed to the PRWS Returning to School Task Force at [email protected]
>>>PRWS COVID-19 Metrics and Scenario Info<<<
Frequently Asked Questions
That depends on the symptom. If your child is experiencing ONE of these symptoms - new cough, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing or loss of taste/smell - then we ask that you keep your child home and contact your healthcare provider for guidance. If your child is experiencing only ONE of these symptoms – fever/chills, nausea/vomiting, congestion/runny nose, body/muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, diarrhea, or headache – then we ask that you follow our normal illness policy and continue to monitor for other symptoms. If a secondary symptom appears then we ask that you keep your child home and contact your healthcare provider for guidance. The regular PRWS illness policy states to keep children home if they:
- Complain of stomachache, headache, or earache
- Have vomited or had diarrhea or unexplained rash within the previous 24 hours
- Have had a fever within the previous 24 hours
- Have a persistent cough/persistent sore throat
- Are not well enough to be outside
- Are in the communicable stage of a childhood disease
We ask that siblings also remain home while waiting for healthcare provider recommendations.
No, we ask that all siblings remain home until your child’s test result is back. The same would apply when a parent is ill and getting a test – all family members should remain home until results are back, as they are considered close contacts.
No, if testing was done without symptoms then it is ok for your children to return to school before results are back.
If your healthcare provider has diagnosed your child’s symptoms as something other than COVID-19 and didn’t recommend a test, then we ask that you keep that child home until 24 hours fever-free without any fever reducing medications, symptoms have improved, and a note from the provider releasing your child to return to school has been delivered to office (via the drop-box, fax, or email). If siblings are healthy, they could return to school after the office has received the doctor’s note.
Let the school office know. Your child should remain at home until 24 hours fever-free with no fever reducing medicine, symptoms have improved, and the school has either a doctor’s note to return to school or proof of negative test results. Siblings would be able to return to school as soon as a doctor’s release or test results have been received in the office.
Keep your child home until 24 hours fever-free with no fever reducing symptoms, symptoms have improved, and it has been 10 days since symptoms first appeared (OR no symptoms have appeared and it’s been 10 days since being tested). Quarantine other family members and monitor for symptoms until child has been symptom free for 14 days. Participate in a public health interview and follow guidance.
Follow public health guidance for close contacts.
You should keep your child home for at least 14 days (quarantine) since the last contact with the positive case and monitor for symptoms. If your child develops symptoms contact your healthcare provider for guidance. Even if your child tests and results come back negative, your child will need to complete the 14 day quarantine period before returning to school.
Schools have the right to inform the school community if an individual tests positive for COVID-19 so long as no personally identifiable information will be shared, including the individual’s name, grade, or if they are a student or staff member without the consent of the parents/individual.
Communication and Updates
Vernon County: Parent’s Guide to COVID-19 and Schools
PRWS COVID-19 Returning to School Plan – Draft
October 6: Town Hall Meeting Recording
August 20: Town Hall Meeting Recording
Public Resources and Information
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization Coronavirus Advisory Info
World Health Organization Coronavirus Q&A
Wisconsin Department of Health Services COVID-19 Page
Vernon County Public Health Department COVID-19 Information
Additional Resources
How to Talk to Children About Difficult News
Explaining the News to Our Kids
How to Talk to Kids About the Coronavirus Outbreak
How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus
A Comic About What Kids Want to Know About the Coronavirus
Coping During COVID-19: Resources for Parents
Research and Resources
What We Know About COVID-19 Transmission in Children, by Dr Naomi Bardach, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, UCSF. In this webinar, Dr Barcach discusses transmission in general, as well as her work with a summer camp in the Bay Area in July. This is the first presentation in Session 1. Session 2 is all about how the virus is transmitted and risk mitigation strategies for schools. It also discusses some basic metrics for safe reopening.
How the Virus Gets in and How to Block It: Aerosols, Droplets, Masks, Face Shields, and More, UCSF COVID Grand Rounds from July 16, 2020: Covid-19
COVID-19 School and Community Resource Library from Mass General Hospital (affiliated with Harvard) and routinely update. Currently 100 pages (most recent updates highlighted in green) divided into 20 sections, each section has a summary of current data and links to studies, articles, policy statements, et cetera. The task force has routinely returned to this resource to help answer specific questions and to learn about newer data as it is emerging.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction COVID-19 Guidance
Wisconsin Department of Health Services School Guidance
American Academy of Pediatrics: Clinical Guidance related to COVID-19 and school re-opening, including their recently updated support for universal use of cloth face coverings in the schools.
Harvard Global Health Institute for guidance on metrics and risk mitigation strategies for reopening.
Minnesota Department of Health School reopening guidance (link 1, link 2)
We Thought it Was Just a Respiratory Virus UCSF Magazine, Summer 2020. An excellent summary on COVID-19 illness with links embedded in the article.
- SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in an Overnight Camp (in Georgia)
- COVID-19-Associated Multisystem Inflammatory in Children
- COVID-19 MMWR main list
FAQ on masks from a pediatrician (NY)
AAP data report on children and COVID from 8/13
Johns Hopkins School resources
Healthy Children Parent Handout on MISC (severe illness related to COVID in children)
Masks do more than protect others (cruise ship data on masks)