Letters about Self-Reported COVID-19 Cases

Posted On Tuesday January 25, 2022

Message to Families RE Letters about Self-Reported COVID-19 Cases
January 24, 2022

Subject Line: Update on Self-Reporting COVID-19 Cases

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are writing to share with you an update on the self-reporting of positive COVID-19 test results that you can currently view through the DDSB COVID-19 Advisory Page.

In addition to this information, your school is planning on sending a letter at the end of each day if there are any self-reported positive COVID-19 test results by informing you of the class that the individual was in. Although the Durham Region Health Department is no longer doing contact tracing, we wish to provide you with this information. We are currently working on a system so that the letter will only be sent if the individual was in attendance during the previous 10 days. If they were not in attendance, they will still show up as a self-reported COVID-19 positive case on the public tracker but we will not send a letter home.  We hope to be able to start sending this information home by the middle of this week.

We want to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible, within the limitations that self-reported data poses, and to avoid creating excess concern in a classroom if someone did not attend school in the past 10 days but did test positive.

Thank you in advance for your understanding as our teams work through a challenging process. We are including more information below on how to read and understand the COVID-19 tracker that is on the DDSB website and some reminders around the use of absence codes.

Details on the COVID-19 Public Tracker

The DDSB COVID-19 Advisory Page provides information on:

  • the number of student and staff absences due to self-reported illness;
  • self-reported positive COVID-19 test results from PCR or rapid antigen tests;
  • school absence rates due to illness; and
  • schools closed due to operational needs or by the DRHD.

For the purposes of this tracker, absences due to illness can be defined as students who are ill, students who have tested positive for COVID-19 and students who are quarantining due to COVID-19.

Our goal is to be as transparent as possible with families with this data. This data is self-reported by parents/guardians and/or staff through normal absence reporting processes and we cannot guarantee its accuracy. It is meant to be a snapshot of the current COVID-19 situation and absences due to illness in schools and workplaces for the previous school day only.

Reminders on Absence Codes

There have been three new absence codes created to help families navigate the current situation, in addition to the existing absence codes. We are including a listing of all absence codes below to help you decide which absence to put into the system.

(NEW) Illness – Covid Positive Test

If your child is absent from school because they tested positive for COVID-19 on a PCR or rapid test, please use this absence code.

Illness

Please use this code to inform us if your child is not attending school due to an illness that is not covered by the above noted code.

(NEW) COVID-Quarantine

This is a new absence code to notify us that your child is not currently ill, but is self-isolating due to provincial guidelines (for example: someone else in the household testing positive for COVID-19). If your child has tested positive, please use the “Illness – Covid Positive Test” code each day that your child is away to notify us.

(NEW) Temporary Broadcast Learning (Elementary Only)

This code is for elementary families not currently enrolled in DDSB@Home, but are either waiting to transition to DDSB@Home, or are simply delaying their return to in-person learning and choosing to take advantage of the Temporary Broadcast Learning program from home twice a day. This will ensure that your child’s attendance reflects that they are engaging in this learning opportunity and they will not be marked absent.

If your child is accessing Temporary Broadcast Learning and is either ill, has tested positive, or is at home isolating, families should use the corresponding absence code specific to each situation and not the code for Temporary Broadcast Learning.

Appointment

If your child is not attending school due to an appointment, please use this absence code.

Bus Cancellation

If your child’s bus was cancelled for any reason or by weather and schools are still open, please use this absence code.

Vacation

If your child is away on a vacation, please use this absence code

Parent or Guardian Approved Absence

If you have approved your child’s absence for any reason and the other codes do not apply, please use this absence code.

Religious Holiday

If your child is not attending due to a religious holiday, please use this absence code.

As a reminder, to communicate your child(ren)’s absence, please use the School Messenger app on your mobile device, notify us online (a link can be found on the school website under “reporting an absence”), or call 1-844-350-2646 to indicate an absence.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message and for your understanding as we work to be as transparent and open with you as possible, while managing through the challenges that this stage of the pandemic has had on school operations.

Thank you,

Durham District School Board