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Parent concerned over school’s COVID-19 procedures
FOX 26's Matthew Seedorff speaks with one parent who is worried after a close call with COVID-19 at an elementary school in Dayton.
DAYTON, Texas - A close call with COVID-19 in an area elementary school has at least one parent worried.
“I don’t like the policy put in place,” said the concerned parent who chose not to give her name.
On Thursday, a kindergartener at Kimmie Brown Elementary School in Dayton, Texas went home sick with symptoms similar to COVID-19. Parents were notified and students/teachers considered to be in close contact with the sick student were told to self-isolate and do remote learning for two weeks. According to the parent we interviewed, there is a hole in the policy.
“All of the siblings of these children that came in contact with the child, were still allowed to go to school,” said the concerned parent. “The whole school could have been exposed.”
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The sick kindergartener eventually tested negative for COVID-19. However, this parent worries about the contact tracing process, because her daughter’s sibling technically could have returned to Kimmie Brown Elementary despite possible exposure at home.
“I asked the principal that today, what about all of these siblings that go home with these kids that you want to self-quarantine?” said the anonymous parent. “She was like, oh, they didn’t come in direct contact with the child that was sent home, so therefore they can still attend school.”
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A spokesperson from Dayton Independent School District provided a written statement to FOX 26, “[The] school nurse contacts the contact tracer,” said Travis Young from Dayton ISD. “The contact tracer determines any close contacts which had exposure to the student/staff exhibiting symptoms. All potentially exposed persons are notified and asked to self-isolate for 14 days after the last exposure. Parents are expected to screen students before they enter the bus or building. If a child reports feeling ill at school, they are sent to the nurse where they are screened again. The nurse communicates with the parents about the student’s symptoms and will sometimes recommend a visit to the doctor.”
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The child with possible COVID-19 symptoms eventually tested negative. All of the students told to self-isolate will be able to return to class Tuesday.
“It worries me because if the child would have tested positive, then the rest of the children in that classroom were exposed,” said the parent. “Then, they come home to their families and their siblings, therefore we’ve all been exposed and their siblings can all still go to school. It’s just a never ending circle.”