12-30-22

Dear Arlington Public Schools Community,

I hope you are enjoying the winter break with family and friends. I am writing with an important health and safety update and request for Arlington students, staff, and families.

APS is issuing a strong recommendation that students, staff, and visitors who are able wear masks except as needed for eating or drinking from January 3rd through January 13th, 2023.

This is also a reminder that APS provided COVID-19 tests prior to the Thanksgiving break, to be used the night before returning from Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Please remember to test for COVID-19 before returning to school on January 3rd.  

As you know, respiratory illness rates have been very high over the past several weeks. COVID-19 wastewater monitoring systems also indicate a sharp increase in the prevalence of COVID-19 infections over the past several days. In the week prior to the break, we had very high levels of staff and student absences due to illness.

We are making this recommendation in collaboration with Arlington Health Department and our Nursing team. We do not make this recommendation lightly; in an effort to protect in-person learning and strong service delivery, we feel it is important to issue this recommendation and ask for your participation. If your child needs a mask, APS can provide one. In addition to this recommendation, we will be using additional mitigation strategies where possible over the next few weeks to reduce the spread of viruses. The administration also reserves the right to implement additional requirements as necessary, especially at schools where staffing is particularly strained. We will consider whether to extend this recommendation in the second week of January based on absence levels.

Thank you for your attention to this message, and for helping us ensure a strong start to 2023.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth C. Homan, Ph.D.

Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools

**This message is automatically translated based on families’ documented preferred home language. To change the language in which you receive APS communications, please contact your child’s school.**