Clayton School District Home

November 9, 2020 - 3:15 PM

Dear Clayton School Families,                                                                 

As many of you are aware we continue to work hard at preventing the Coronavirus from affecting our students within the building.  When we hear of families that have positive cases we act as quickly as we can to reduce the affect it may have on the rest of our students and staff.  Our closure last week of the lower elementary grades was a result of reduced staffing and we have taken steps to prevent those circumstances from creating a similar situation in the future.

With the Thanksgiving break coming up, we wish to use that week to allow for additional time to reduce any potential spread of COVID-19 within our building. To this end, we will be closing the entire school on Monday November 23 rd and Tuesday November 24 th. These days will NOT be instructional days. We wish to give the students a break from the stress of getting online or having to do school work every day we are off.

Also, to provide a buffer, prior to returning after Thanksgiving, we will be changing November 30th and December 1st to off-site instructional days for ALL students in the district. We hope that all families that choose to gather on Thanksgiving are able to monitor their children and if they show signs of COVID type symptoms within those first 3-5 days we can prevent any potential spread within the building.  While I am very aware of the burden this may put on some households, we hope that these small closings will prevent us from having to go to off-site instruction for more prolonged periods of time.

We continue to closely monitor all students that have been sent home for any connections between cases and at this time we are still not finding any connections originating within the school between positive cases. Even so, it is very important that all of our community members and families take as many precautions as possible to prevent the children of our district from being exposed to the Coronavirus and potentially bringing it into the school building.  Please consider the following strategies for reducing the spread of COVID-19:

*Stay home as much as possible and avoiding gatherings of more than 10

*Do not have children participate in sleepovers

*Wear face coverings as much as possible when in public

*Any student, staff, family, or community members that are exhibiting flu-like symptoms should contact a medical provider, or the Polk County Department of Health.

These are all small steps we can control now that will help to reduce the spread of COVID within our community, minimizing the potential of bringing the virus into the school building.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. If you or your children have any of these symptoms, please have a test taken to determine if your next steps need to be specific to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sincerely,

Ed Cerney

District Administrator

Clayton School District

November 1, 2020 - 2:12 PM

This weekend the Clayton Administration was notified of multiple households that have confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, creating a large number of elementary students being listed as close contacts. All close contacts have already been informed by school staff.

At this time the elementary grades from Junior Kindergarten through grade 3 and Bears Club also will be moving to only off-site instruction this week, November 2 ^nd through November 6 ^th. The classroom teachers of students affected will be connecting with the elementary students.

The grades affected will be returning to in-person instruction on Monday November 9 ^th, all grades 4 through 12 will be attending school as scheduled.

October 22, 2020 - 2:52 PM

Dear Clayton School District Families,

Yesterday, Clayton School District was notified of a confirmed positive COVID-19 case in the middle school, by the Polk County Health department. We took immediate action with tracing any students or staff that were considered close contacts and those people were sent home and will be out of the building for 14 days from the time of exposure.  Today, we were again notified, that an unconnected person, was confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19. We again followed our procedures, determined close contacts and sent them home.

In both of these separate situations the positive cases were not in the building, but had been in close contact with others in the middle school recently. Close contacts are defined by the health department as being within 6 feet for at least 15 accumulated minutes in any given day.

The individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to school for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms. Those that have to quarantine will also be out of the building for an extended period of time determined by the date of last exposure and being symptom free prior to returning. Classes will resume as scheduled on Monday.

Please remember to slow the spread of COVID-19:

1. Stay home when ill.

2. Wear a mask when in public if physically able.

3. Wash hands frequently with soap and water, use hand sanitizer if soap and

water are unavailable.

4. Clean frequently used surfaces such as door knobs, tables, etc.

5. Limit unnecessary travel, events or large gatherings.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will remain vigilant in our COVID mitigation efforts, sending students home when showing signs of illness and determining close contacts when necessary, providing you with updates as needed. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Ed Cerney, District Administrator

Clayton School District

October 19, 2020, 3:55 PM

The Clayton School District was notified that a person in Clayton Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19.

Per our established protocol, and since that person was not in the building over the past several days a thorough cleaning of the middle school area was completed before the weekend. We are also in contact with the Polk County Department of Health and will take the steps necessary to protect the health of our students and staff. The school nurse has connected with those students and staff we know were in close contact with the positive case.

The individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to school for at least 10 days. Classes will continue as scheduled for students.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Individuals who need medical care should call their medical provider to report their illness prior to seeking care at a clinic, physician’s office, or hospital. Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact a school nurse, local health authorities or the Polk County Department of Health.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ed Cerney ay 715-948-2163 or cerneye@claytonsd.k12.wi.us

September 23, 2020, 1:45 PM

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As of today, Wednesday September 23, 2020, we have not had any cases of the Coronavirus within the school building. I am very grateful for the efforts made by all the families, students and staff to maintain the safety measures we have in place that reduce opportunities for the virus to spread within our building. We will continue to provide physical distancing between our students in the classrooms and the building, maintain separations between the grade level groups and require masks to be worn within the building. These measures, as required through state mandates, along with the rest of our Onward Clayton Re-opening plan will be expected until the mandates expire and we feel there is a significant reduction within our district and county to start to remove some of these precautions.

You may be hearing rumors about students or families that are staying at home. This can be for a variety of reasons or circumstances including non-Covid illness such as influenza or allergies and the parents are keeping them home until the students feel better. Please understand that our staff is persistently checking on the health of students within the building and providing guidance to families that have sick children about testing, quarantine periods and options for learning if extended absences are needed. We are being very proactive regarding students not attending, if we feel there is a risk of spreading COVID within the school building.

In our reopening plan, we determined the processes we are using for students/staff with symptoms, students/staff who have someone at home with symptoms, students/staff that have tested negative and students/staff that have tested positive. You can see the entire plan and the procedures document on our website.

We really want to help all families get through this school year. When families call us or we hear of a family that have members that have tested positive or are getting tested, our school nurse Jen Young has been reaching out to them and offering our assistance, in any way we can. We are lucky to have Jen assigned to us through our contract with Cumberland Health Care and she is willing to answer any questions and give suggestions. However, we do not always hear about concerned families, while we are not able to discuss other families, if you have questions regarding your situation, please call the school and we will have Jen or someone from the office get in touch with you.

We all need to continue to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, and to keep our students and staff as safe as possible:
1. Stay home when ill.
2. Wear a face covering correctly when in public.
3. Wash hands frequently with soap and water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are unavailable.
4. Clean frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, tables, etc.
5. Limit unnecessary travel, events, or large gatherings.

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of our office staff for further information.

Thank you, for everything you do for your children and all the children in our district!
Sincerely,

Ed Cerney
Clayton District Administrator

9/14/2020 11:00 AM

We have added new information to the right under COVID Athletic Updates and ONWARD CLAYTON! 

April 24, 2020, 10:45 AM

Each week, Mr. Cerney has given updates on COVID-19 and it's impact on our District. These updates are located to the right. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 715-948-2163. Thank you!

3/23/2020, 5:35 PM

Even though today's delivery of 240 lunches and 240 breakfasts did have a few hiccups, we believe providing that many meals to our community children at about 80 locations, went well and will go even more smoothly tomorrow. We have also added some additional children this afternoon so we need your assistance to assure all the meals are delivered efficiently.

We appreciated the coolers that were set out so the meals had a place to be set. If you have a long driveway, please leave the cooler out closer to the entrance so our vans do not have to drive further than necessary into your yard and then back out.

We also ask that dogs are restricted from getting to the meals or the people dropping them off. If dogs are loose when the van arrives, the van will move on without leaving the meals.

Finally, if you plan to pick up your meals, please do so between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon at door #11.

We appreciated all of you that called to help us make small changes that will help with future deliveries. Together we will get through this situation and come out stronger, because We Are Clayton!

Thank you for your support of our children and community.

Ed Cerney

Clayton District Administrator

3/22/2020, 8:34 PM

I just wanted to connect quick, to let you know, that those requesting meal delivery for the children at your house are all set to receive Monday's lunch and Tuesday's breakfast between 10:30 am and 12:00 noon on Monday, March 23rd. Please leave a box or cooler outside your door each day you will receive meals so there is a place to leave the bag of meals.

To comply with the social distancing rules, please do not come out of the house to greet the staff delivering the meals. If you see them as they stop, please feel free to give them a wave from the window.

Your requests were put on routes loosely following the regular bus route system. If you do not receive your meals by noon, please call the office to help us to correct the error.

For anyone that requested meals to pick up at the school, please use door #11 (near the HS end of the alley). If you do not see someone at the door please ring the doorbell we have installed there and someone will come out.

If you did not request meals for your children ages 0 to 18, please call the office to get placed on the list.

Teachers will be contacting you and your children, as we begin to work into off site instruction for all students. While we do not know how long this school shutdown will last, please know that we will be here to provide as much support as we can for our students, families, and community.

If you need any other help please call the office. We will do whatever we can to help you or assist you with finding someone that can.

Thank you!

Ed Cerney

Clayton District Administrator

3/18/2020, 4:17 PM

Today was the last day we were able to meet and prepare your children for the school shut down ordered by Governor Evers. We provided the students with options and activities to help make staying at home more tolerable. There are many uncertainties and pieces of misinformation floating around so I urge you to use legitimate sources for information and I will try to update you if changes greatly affect our district. Now that the mandate has extended the length of the shutdown, the Clayton staff will be working to finalize our procedures for extended instruction through electronic devices. Students in grades 4 – 8 received Chromebooks today and high school students already have laptops with them. All of these are on loan from the school. We ask that care is taken with these devices as they will be very important to student education activities as we begin the instructional portion of the shutdown. If children in lower grades need devices when the instruction period begins in a few weeks, we will provide the needed items. Our survey identified some families that do not have internet access. We are currently working on a solution and will contact you as that time approaches. For those of you receiving emails from me there is a letter attached from Mr. Nadeau with more specifics (Link to the right, Nadeau Letter). If you do not get an email, please check your students Infinite Campus Portal. Please also refer to the information being sent home from the teachers and contact us if you have questions. We remain available to aid the families of the Clayton District. Thank you for helping us keep your children safe.

Ed Cerney District Administrator

3/17/2020, 4:25 PM

Over the past few days we have been preparing our students for an unprecedented shutting down of our schools across the state and most of our nation. Here in our district we will be holding school for one more day, tomorrow before we are required to shut down to our students. As allowed by the latest Governor's decree this afternoon. While in this school shutdown scenario we need to remember the purpose of the shut down is to limit the passing of the Coronavirus between groups of people. This means that even though your children of all ages may become restless at home they should not venture out to friends’ houses or take unnecessary trips to stores. If you and a neighbor are sharing child watching duties, please contain the groups combined to the same children every day. We are providing lunch and breakfast items starting on March 23rd, for those that have signed up through the online survey. If your family needs assistance with meals please call the office to get on our list. This Federal FREE MEAL program is for all children from infants up to age 18 and provides additional revenue for our meal program to cover this service, so we encourage all families to sign up. We will be sending home some lunch and breakfast items with elementary students on Wednesday to provide assistance for families this week. Our teaching staff will be working during this time and will be making connections by phone with the students to also help reassure them and offer assistance and support. Please refer to the information being sent home from the teachers and contact us if you have questions. We are here to support the students and families of the Clayton School District because we feel your children are also ours. WE ARE CLAYTON!

Thank you, Ed Cerney District Administrator

3/16/2020, 2:45 PM

The Clayton School District will be providing school breakfast and lunch to all resident students over the extended break. (More information on this will come in a survey to families tonight.)

Currently, we have a backpack program for families in need, supplying some extra food over the weekends. If you are currently not signed up for the backpack program but could use the extra food over this extended break please email Ms. Arneberg at arnebergr@claytonsd.k12.wi.us to request one.

3/13/2020, 5:30 PM

As you may have already heard, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has closed all Public Schools beginning next week Wednesday, March 18th at 5:00 PM. At this time schools are set to reopen on Monday April 6. This will also include the Bears Club Daycare program here in our school. The purpose of the closing is to keep groups of people and students from gathering and possibly spreading the virus among the group. School will run as scheduled next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for staff, students, and parents to prepare for the extended time off. I will provide more information as it develops. Thank you for understanding.

Ed Cerney, Superintendent

3/13/2020, 4:30 PM

After gathering data surrounding the COVID-19 situation and consulting with the county health department, it has been decided that all non-school day activities will be suspended beginning Saturday, March 14,2020 until Tuesday April 14, 2020.

This includes all evening activities, the District Fitness Center, all open gym times, and any elementary sports practices.

The Spring School sports teams will be able to practice on days when school is in session, but will not participate in multi-school competitions until the suspension is lifted.

If there are any changes to these requirements you will be notified as soon as possible.

We regret making these restrictions, but appreciate your understanding and help with reducing the potential of spreading the Coronavirus.

Thank You,

Ed Cerney, Superintendent of the Clayton School District