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NEW MASKING GUIDANCE FOR LM STUDENTS & COVID-19 PLAN

Recommendations for schools from LG Health Penn Medicine and information that Lancaster County is in the ‘high’ level of community transmission of COVID-19 has continued to filter in as the start of school quickly draws near.

Due to these recent and significant changes in our local area, we as a school community are adopting universal masking when indoors for all of our students and employees to start the 2021-22 school year. When Lancaster County drops to a safer community transmission level we will announce transition to the opportunity for optional masking.

High Transmission Rate: Universal masking for LM students and employees
Substantial, Moderate and Low Transmission Rate: Masking optional for LM students, required for employees

Currently Lancaster County is at a ‘high’ level of community transmission by cases at 120/100,000 (1.2 per 1,000 people). Visit the CDC website to see a county level view of these rates for our region – learn more.

The safety of our students and employees is at the forefront of the Board of Directors and Administrators minds as we make this decision. We have prayerfully and carefully weighed your feedback and the guidance of medical professionals. We know for some this is an abrupt change close to the start of the school year, but we are looking to protect the most vulnerable in our community, and appreciate your continued support of our school community.

Updated Contact Tracing, Quarantining & Isolation Guidelines

We recently revised our guidelines based on guidance from the CDC, PaDOH (PA Dept of Health), and PDE (PA Dept of Education). There are some new exceptions, as well as changes to contact tracing and quarantining for those that show proof of vaccination status.

Learn more by clicking the button below, and going to page 2 of the .pdf document linked to the button.

It is our aim to provide an in-person school experience as much as possible this year. For those that are able, we encourage you to get vaccinated. For students and employees that are vaccinated, we encourage you to send us a photo of your vaccination card so we can keep it in your health file. This will be especially helpful as we do contact tracing if there are positive cases this year.

For students needing to quarantine, teachers will connect with you online to provide assignments and classwork while doing school remotely.

We will continue to keep these safety protocols in place this year:

  • Maintaining hand washing protocols
  • Reduced sharing of supplies among students
  • Social distancing of 3ft (or more) when possible
  • Requiring students and staff to stay home when any symptoms are present (self-screening at home; no longer doing daily temp checks at school)
  • Continued encouragement for outdoor learning whenever possible

View our full COVID Plan for 2021-22 by clicking the button below.

LM COVID-19 Information

For more information, resource links, and the latest updates about COVID-19 from LM, please visit our COVID-19 Information and Current COVID-19 News & Updates pages on our website.

Focused on safe, in-person instruction

We believe that attending school in-person is the most beneficial option for student’s emotional and social wellbeing, and academic growth, so we are putting as many steps in place to keep that opportunity available this year.

Thank you so much for entrusting your student to learning and growing together in the Christ-centered community at Lancaster Mennonite this year.

 

Blessings,
Dr. Pam Tieszen, Superintendent & Kathy Beiler, Board Chair