As previously communicated, masks are no longer required in our schools or on district transportation. This change comes with the updated guidance from the CDC which moves our community to the low level.

At this time, all other COVID-19 mitigation measures in the district’s Health and Safety Plan will remain in place. We will continue our emphasis on daily cleaning and sanitizing, student desks and seats will remain no less than three feet apart, and we will keep separate tables in our elementary and middle school cafeterias.

Students and staff may continue to wear masks in school if they choose to do so. Please talk to your child(ren) and encourage them to be respectful of an individual or family’s choice regarding masks.

We strive to maintain a safe, comfortable, respectful and inclusive environment for all. No student should be singled out for their individual choice.

We will continue to track all known COVID-19 cases online, and as such, all student and staff COVID-19 cases should continue to be reported to the school nurse. The nurse will provide additional information on quarantine requirements based on current local, state and federal guidelines.

Please self-monitor your child(ren) for symptoms and if they are sick, keep them home.

Without a universal mask mandate, we are no longer exempt from contact tracing. Should a COVID-19 case occur in one of our buildings, NHSD will follow CDC guidance and contact trace accordingly.

We are fortunate that our schools have remained open all year so that our students have been able to receive the best possible instruction, face-to-face. Dropping the mask mandate brings a lot of uncertainty, and we do not know what the future holds, but we are hopeful this is the next step toward pre-COVID “normalcy.”