By Taylor Boyd
Patrick County Schools are in the process of coordinating vaccination clinics for students aged 5 to 11.
Interim Schools Superintendent Dr. David Martin said the clinics will be held at Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC), in concert with local health departments.
“One thing that I hope happens, because we haven’t advertised yet because we’re trying to make this happen, is I would love to have a pediatrician at these clinics to talk to parents about vaccinations,” he said.
Martin said having the pediatrician present would give parents the opportunity to ask any questions they have and help them make informed choices about the vaccinations.
“A child cannot be vaccinated unless their parents are with them to give to give permission,” Martin said.
A survey was sent to parents because a rough estimate is needed on the number of doses needed at the vaccination clinics, according to Martin, who added that the school division will provide booster shots to teachers and staff on November 23 at Patrick County High School.
“Overall, we’re making things available. It is still a choice for parents and for staff, but at the same time, we need to know how to plan to move that forward,” he said, and noted that some schools are experiencing spikes in the number of cases.
“Hardin Reynolds to be specific,” Martin said. “There was a field trip, and there was a positive child on the field trip, which necessitated quarantining quite a few students because they were in close contact particularly on the bus.”
Over the next school break, the school division will contract with an outside provider to perform a deep clean of the school, Martin said, adding a similar protocol also can be employed for other schools in the future, if necessary to ensure the safety of the students and staff.
As of November 4, there were 33 positive cases and 45 quarantines in the school division.
Hardin Reynolds Memorial School had 16 positive cases and 24 students and staff quarantined. Patrick County High School saw 10 people test positive for COVID-19 and 35 quarantined. Patrick Springs Primary School had four positive tests and six in quarantine.
All other schools, except Meadows of Dan Elementary, reported at least one person in quarantine.
Blue Ridge and Woolwine elementary schools were the only schools to not have at least one positive case.
Between August 25 and September 8 there were an average of 217 quarantined students and staff, and an average of 71 positive individuals each week. Since September 15, the weekly average of quarantined students and staff members is 102 and the weekly average of positive individual is 31.
Martin said on November 1, the administration learned from the West Piedmont Health District (WPHD) Epidemiologist that antibody testing should not be used to diagnose current or recent COIVD-19 disease. “The other thing, which is extremely frustrating for me and for staff, is we were due 365 rapid tests to come into our school system. To say they have been lost in the mail is an understatement. We have tried to track these,” but we are still waiting for them to arrive, he said.
In other matters, the board:
*Approved a resolution to name the Patrick County School Board Office the Sara Leigh Dickerson Collins Building.
*Approved personnel as amended.
*Accepted the request of transfer from Trey Cox, principal of Patrick County High School, and Martin’s recommendation, to the position of Director of Career and Technical Education, beginning Nov. 15.
*Accepted a recommendation for Andrea Cassell to serve as the interim principal of Patrick County High School, beginning Nov. 15 and continuing until the position is filled with a permanent replacement.
*Accepted the superintendent’s recommendation to appoint Jason Wood as the Assistant Superintendent of Administration, beginning Nov. 15. Also approved Wood as a superintendent designee that could sign state reports in Martin’s absence.
*Heard from the public asking the board to review the current COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for students and staff, and potentially make necessary amendments to the policies if there is no significant data supporting the current policies.
*Approved the consent agenda.
*Approved the COVID-19 shared leave.
*Heard an update about the superintendent search.
