Jason J.

Kennedy Jesse Rickard

Superintendent Director of Business Services

December 7, 2020

Re: MDHHS Order Issued; Return to In-person Learning

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Families:

Today, in a press conference, Director Robert Gordon of the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services issued a new order that takes effect on December 9, 2020 at 12:01 am. At that time,
the November 18, 2020 order will be rescinded. This new order remains in effect through
December 20, 2020 at 11:59 pm, and can be found by clicking on the link below:

● Link to Gatherings and Face Mask Order - Effective December 9, 2020

This new order prohibits the gathering of people at public and nonpublic schools for the purpose of
conducting in-person instruction, sports, and extracurricular activities serving pupils in grades 9
through 12. As a result, all students in grades 9 through 12 at Ludington High School will continue
with remote instruction through at least December 20, 2020, as required by the order.

Next, students in grades pre-k through grade 8 that have selected in-person learning for the second
trimester will return to in-person learning on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. Students in these
grade levels that have selected a remote learning option for the second trimester will continue to
receive instruction through that remote learning option when in-person learners return to school
on Wednesday.

This decision was not taken lightly, and it has been a difficult one to make. Understanding that
multiple views exist on this issue within our community, the District originally made the decision to
pause in-person learning to all students several weeks ago based upon a number of factors. Among
those factors were increasing case counts, increasing test positivity rates, hospital capacity and
staffing issues, significant delays in the return of test results, public health staffing concerns related
to contact tracing, and medical advice that the District received from public health about their
ability to keep students and staff safe in Ludington as a result of the cases and close contact
quarantines that we were dealing with at the time.

Fast forward through the pause of in-person learning in Ludington, and significant improvements
have been made in many of these areas. According to District Health Department #10 (DHD10),
patient loads in our area hospitals are now nearly half of what they were when the original decision
to move all learners to remote learning was made. Turn around times for test results are now
approximately 48 hours and not 7-10 days like they were when we made our decision to move to
in-person learning, and most importantly, while staffing issues still exist in public health
departments across the State and DHD10 to complete contact tracing, districts in Mason County are
blessed to have a partnership with Spectrum Health Ludington that provides access to a school
nurse. Key metrics measured by public health for a safe restart are outlined in the link below:

● MDHHS Key Metrics for a Safe Restart

Current standards of practice are evolving for the care of students and staff during the COVID-19
pandemic, and Kelly Barnhardt (Registered Nurse at Spectrum Health) and the Community Benefits
Department at Spectrum Health have graciously offered to assist schools in contact tracing. This is a
huge win for schools to have an additional health care expert assisting in completing the necessary
contact tracing to keep our schools, students, staff, and families safe.

After the conclusion of the Governor and Director Gordon’s press conference today, I spoke with Dr.
Morse at length about the development of our District’s plan to return to in-person learning. Dr.
Morse was adamant that the risks associated with continuing to pause in-person learning in our
schools for students in grades pre-k through grade 8 by far outweigh the risks of students and staff
being in school. The implementation of a strong contact tracing plan that is supported by Spectrum
Health is key to returning to in-person learning. Again, we are blessed with such a wonderful
resource. Thank you to Spectrum Health. Dr. Morse cited many research studies to support this, and
now that we have seen improvements in many of the metrics that were discussed above, Dr. Morse
is prepared to support the return of in-person learning for students in grades pre-k through grade 8
in Ludington.

The District has trusted the advice that it has received from health care experts in each of these
decisions that it has made, and we are confident in this decision to move us forward.

Returning to in-person learning is a priority for the Michigan Department of Health and Human
Services, and for Ludington Area Schools, as long as we can do so safely. We must continue to
operate safely, and implement safety mitigation measures that ensure that our schools are safe. We
will continue to mandate the use of facial coverings and all of the safety measures outlined within
our District’s plans. Students who are not compliant and who do not follow these protocols may be
moved to remote learning. We must continue to work together if we want to keep our schools open.
The health and safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance. Linked below is an
infographic highlighting the importance of facial coverings and other social gathering limitations:

● MDHHS Social Gathering Guidance and Facial Coverings

It is important to understand that we will continue to monitor each of the metrics that are tracked
by Dr. Morse, public health officials, and our District, and make decisions as necessary to protect the
safety and well being of students, staff, and our families. If case counts and test positivity rates
escalate, and we begin to see rising numbers in our District as we did previously, we may be forced
into returning to remote learning for all learners. Thank you for your continued patience and
support of the District as we have worked through this pandemic. Stay safe and be well!

Sincerely,

Jason J. Kennedy
Superintendent