Johnston Community School District To Continue To Require Masks Through End Of School Year

From the Johnston Community School District:

May 17, 2021

The following message was sent to JCSD staff and families on May 15, 2021.

The school board met this evening to discuss the updated guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Polk County Health (PCH). After thoughtful conversations and the realization that each of the guidelines vary, the board has decided the following:

• Mask mandates for all students and staff will remain in place for the last 11 days of school (students’ last day is June 2; teachers’ last day is June 3).
• Contact tracing and quarantining will no longer be conducted. Any student who is currently asymptomatic and in quarantine due to being designated as a close contact may return to school tomorrow. There are no additional lunch seating requirements for these students.

There were also discussions regarding graduation protocol. The board determined that we can relax some of the mitigation measures that were previously in place. Graduating seniors will no longer be limited to six guests. Masks will be highly encouraged for all spectators and families will be encouraged to sit together. Please watch for more graduation-related announcements to come from the high school.

Thank you,

Ms. Laura Kacer, JCSD Superintendent

This press release was produced by the Johnston Community School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.