COVID Update - September 24, 2021
Greenback Family,
We did pull back to Green Plus on our zone protocols after our local cases dropped within that zone this
week. This does make masking optional for all students. We certainly support those students who wish
to use masking as a mitigation because we know some households have different needs and concerns.
We continue to monitor our criteria daily and use our local (district connected) case numbers as our
primary criterion.
We also received a grant from KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) to provide
optional testing to help kids stay in school. This is optional and requires a parent permission for a
student to be in the covid testing program. We can use this program to shorten or eliminate
quarantines. It should be offered as an option for parents if your child is a close contact or reports covid
symptoms.
I really appreciate our students as they continue to support each other and helped us knock down our
surge. I certainly don’t want to act like we are out of the woods and we will warily watch the numbers
this next week especially.
We will continue to work with our local healthcare professionals with the objective to keep our schools
open and our students moving forward safely. We appreciate your support.
On another note, we are inducting our first three Hall of Fame inductees tonight: Bill Farmer, Dorotha
Giannagelo, and Don Buhler. Congrats to them for their accomplishments and how they represented
Pratt USD 382 and/or their contributions to our students over the years.
And, our Greenbacks (I’m avoiding anything that messes with the karma) take on Larned tonight in
football. It’s old school and we get after it.
Respectfully,
Tony Helfrich
Superintendent
Pratt Schools USD 382
