Keystone Central Schools – Now Closed
(Editor’s Note: The story below was posted just moments before Gov. Wolf announced that Pennsylvania public schools will be closed for the next two weeks. The Keystone Central School District followed the governor’s announcement with one of its own:
Keystone Central School District will be closed for the next two weeks (from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 27). This is due to Gov. Tom Wolf officially announcing the closure of all K-12 Pennsylvania schools for two weeks starting Monday.
We will continue to update our website (www.kcsd.k12.pa.us) as information becomes available or if you need verification).
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – The Keystone Central School District says it will be open next week, but the Coronavirus threat is a “fluid situation” and those plans could change.
Meanwhile Central Mountain High School has announced that two athletic events scheduled for later this month have been postponed. Tennis with Danville on March 23 has been called off as that school district is closed and baseball with DuBois on March 20 is off as that district has ruled no athletics through March 28. Central Mountain did hold a home baseball scrimmage on Thursday with Bald Eagle Area.
The KCSD announcement came Friday afternoon from school district superintendent Jacquelyn Martin:
March 13, 2020
Dear KCSD Families and Community,
The Administrative Team at KCSD continues to monitor the Coronavirus situation closely and is making the necessary preparations in case the COVID-19 virus becomes more prevalent in our community. At this time, we are still planning to remain open for next week. This is a fluid situation and could change by the end of the day, or over the weekend. It is recommended that families establish a contingency plan for short term (1-5 day closures). We can guarantee that all decisions regarding the possible closing of schools will be made with the best interests of students in mind in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and can assure you that our first priority is to maintain the safety and well-being of all students and staff. We will continue to keep you updated with new information as it becomes available. In the event that school is closed, it is our plan to keep offices open with essential staff reporting to work. We will keep you posted on any further developments.
We all play a role in reducing the likelihood of a coronavirus outbreak in our school district and community. We encourage everyone to practice good habits, including:
Wash your hands regularly, especially after using the restroom and before preparing or consuming food. Wash for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Be sure to also wash your fingertips.
Avoid coughing or sneezing into your hands or in the air. Always try to cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough/sneeze into your arm.
As much as you can, avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.
If children are feeling sick, please keep them home from school. Allow them some time to feel better so that they do not risk infecting others.
KCSD Current efforts to prevent, or decrease, the spread of the virus include:
● Provided guidance to our staff and students regarding travel restrictions (based on CDC recommendations)
● Our nursing staff will continue to observe and monitor the health status of all students
● Nurses have been instructed to remain diligent in terms of sending students home who show signs of illness
● Custodial staff in every building will continue to ensure facilities are clean and all frequently touched surfaces are sanitized on a daily basis
● Susquehanna Transit is now disinfecting busses daily
● Cancelling/postponing all field trips from now until April 1 – other trips will be re-evaluated as more information becomes available
● We are taking additional steps to disinfect shared curricular materials
● We are taking steps to disinfect technology devices and reduce the sharing of technology devices such as laptops and chromebooks.
● Limiting the use of our facilities to outside groups
● Cancelling large group gatherings on site (250+) or school trips to events with large groups of people
Preparedness efforts are also being taken and developed daily at KCSD in the event that COVID-19 is suspected or confirmed in our area. These steps include:
● We are following the Coronavirus Disease Risk Assessment and Public Health Management Recommendations
● In the event of school closures, we will schedule make-up days at the end of the school year
● At this time, we are neither approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), or prepared, to provide Flexible Instruction Days (FID)
● We will consider any special allowances provided by PDE to make up missed school days
● Remote work solutions for essential staff – business office/payroll/admin
● Collaborating with the Clinton County Emergency Management team
● Monitoring information from the Governor, CDC, FEMA, PEMA, Department of Health and the Department of Education, IU10 and nearby schools.
