Protecting Our Students and Community from Coronavirus

Schools Closed

Dear Pepin Area Schools families: 

The health and safety of our students and staff are always our number one priority. We have closed our school buildings under order to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus in Wisconsin.

We know that keeping children at home may cause difficulties for your children and families as you juggle work, child care and other challenges, and our staff are committed to doing everything we can to help make this as positive an experience as possible for your children.

Gov. Tony Evers on March 23 issued a statewide "Safer-at-Home" order requiring that from March 25-May 26 (extended) residents stay at home except for certain activities such as getting groceries, gas, medicine and pet and medical supplies; engaging in outdoor activities like walking, running, biking and hiking if following six-foot social distancing guidelines; caring for others and working in essential businesses. Evers on March 13 had ordered the closure of all K-12 Wisconsin schools, public and private from Wednesday, March 18 to at least April 5 but later extended that to an "indefinite" period during the public health emergency.

“Kids and families across Wisconsin often depend on our schools to access food and care," Evers said. "We are going to continue working to do everything we can to ensure kids and families have the resources and support they need while schools are closed.”

Pepin Area Schools will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. All after-school activities and athletics, including practices, also will be canceled. 

School Meals

The district will be delivering meals to all students who have signed up Monday-Friday.  For more information on meal deliveries, contact Bruce Quinton at 715-442-2391 or bruceq@pepin.k12.wi.us. 

Home WiFi options

Some internet carriers are offering free and/or low cost options that your family may be able to use.

See DPI list of internet offers for families

The Wisconsin foundation for rural housing has a program called HomeNet. To assist families with less than 80% of county median income in paying for internet access. According to their chart in Pepin County that would be families earning less than $55,700. Families would need to access the application on their site and email or mail it in. https://www.wisconsinruralhousing.org/about-3

HBC will be offering free broadband Internet. This service is available to our area. Please contact HBC if you are in need of an Internet connection during the time of the school closure. With area schools amending class schedules in response to the coronavirus, HBC will be offering free broadband Internet to eligible low-income families with students. http://ow.ly/IWjI50yLTTM

Special Education

For students with Special Education needs, please contact our Special Education/Pupil Services Director, Rachel Pommerening at 715-442-2391 or rachelp@pepin.k12.wi.us 

When School Resumes

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

Please contact the school at 715-442-2391 to report the absence and symptoms. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of Coronavirus at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website. Those at highest risk for Coronavirus complications are older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems or heart, lung and kidney disease. See how Coronavirus is spread. It can take two to 14 days for a person to develop symptoms after initial exposure to the virus; the average is about five days.

We have no known cases of COVID-19 among students or staff in Pepin Area Schools School District.

We continue to closely monitor the situation with our School Nurses and Pepin County Health Departments, as well as review updates from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Department of Public Instruction and the CDC. Here is the latest information on confirmed cases in Wisconsin.

What You Can Do and Our Cleaning Measures

Pepin Area Schools has a routine cleaning regimen in place to help reduce the spread of germs and communicable disease. In addition to our regular cleaning and disinfection, we are increasing the cleaning of high-touch areas and hard and soft surface items throughout the day. We will follow all guidelines of the CDC and our local and state health departments.

• Wash your hands regularly, for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Make sure to wash your fingertips. This is especially important after using the restroom, coughing or sneezing into your hands, and before preparing or consuming food.
• 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. Families should have a plan in place for keeping your child home, picking up your child if they are sent home sick, and if schools are closed.
   

Travel Restrictions

This is a rapidly evolving situation, with the World Health Organization declaring Coronavirus a pandemic, the President and Governor declaring it a public health emergency and the President issuing a month-long ban effective March 13 on all travel from Europe, including the UK and Ireland, to the U.S.

• Cancel events with over 250 people
• Avoid non-essential domestic travel
• Avoid traveling to areas in the US with sustained community transmission of COVID-19 (currently Washington, New York, and California). See map of US sustained community transmission of COVID-19.
• Self-quarantine for 14 days upon return for anyone who travels to any U.S. states with confirmed community spread of COVID-19.

Many families have travel plans for spring break. If your family is planning to travel to a country with a Level 3 travel health notice, please contact the Pepin Area School District before returning to school. The CDC is asking you to self-quarantine for 14 days. Read more about travel on the CDC's website.

We appreciate your patience with this fluid situation and we will continue to update you as needed. Please rest assured that we will continue to put your students’ safety first.