January 3, 2022

Dothan City Schools COVID-19 Protocol Reminder and Update

DOTHAN, Ala. –  After thorough review and consideration of the new recommendations by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as consultation with other districts in the area, Dothan City Schools (DCS) would like to provide a reminder to our families the importance of following the safety protocols we have established to minimize risks for our students, staff, and families. While we recognize these measures can be challenging to follow, we are all working together to support one another. We all must do our part to be extra vigilant while the COVID-19 virus and its variants remain a factor in our lives.

In the first half of the school year, our students have done an outstanding job wearing their masks, social distancing when needed, hand hygiene, and following our other protocols. As a reminder, below are the key strategies we have implemented to ensure the safety of all students and staff members of DCS:

• Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting vaccination can help us safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.
• Masks will be strongly encouraged inside all DCS facilities and campuses; Per Federal regulations, Masks are required on all DCS Transportation and DCS Head Start’s campus (a federally regulated school/program).
• All DCS facilities will continue to use best practice strategies for cleaning recommended by the CDC.

• All students and staff will be asked to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. If they are feeling sick, they should stay home from school.
• DCS will continue to utilize thermal cameras to identify individuals with illness symptoms and will send those individuals home until they are symptom-free.
• DCS will reevaluate these strategies and make changes as necessary to support local healthcare authorities in their ability to provide services to the public
• DCS is committed to the continuance of face-to-face instruction unless staffing shortages prohibit this.

In addition to adhering to these protocols, DCS will follow new isolation and quarantine guidelines established by CDC, which currently states people with COVID-19 should isolate for five days, and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), that isolation will then be followed with five days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.

Dothan City Schools will strongly encourage masks be worn indoors by all not fully vaccinated individuals. Dothan City Schools will require masks while on school buses per Federal Department of Transportation regulations. Dothan City Schools will implement the following layered protections for students and staff: cleaning guidelines as established by the CDC, promoting handwashing and respiratory etiquette, and the quarantining of infected and exposed individuals. As a reminder, Dothan City Schools also provides upgraded HVAC systems/Air Purifiers for large capacity areas, including the infusion of fresh air, bipolar ionization of existing air, and UV filtering.

Dothan City Schools remains committed to providing our staff and students with the safest environment possible. More information regarding our health and safety protocols for COVID-19 may be found at dothan.k12.al.us/covid.