Dear Coatesville Area School District Faculty and Staff,

As we move closer to spring and COVID-19 case counts continue to trend downward, I want to inform you that beginning Monday, February 28, 2022, the Coatesville Area School District will transition to mask optional for students, staff, and visitors in our schools, buildings, and school buses.

Many conditions have changed over the course of this school year, including:

• Vaccines are now widely available for children ages 5 and up, as well as adults.
• The Chester County Health Department eliminated contact tracing in schools.
• The severity of COVID-19 has generally decreased.
• Other schools that have gone to ‘masks optional’ have not seen a surge in COVID-19 cases.
• There has been a dramatic drop in hospitalizations, number of cases, and transmission rates, including in the CASD.
• No health agency (CDC, PA Department of Health, Chester County Health Department) currently has a mask mandate for schools. The state mask mandate for schools ended in December.

In addition, on Friday February 25, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced updated information on how COVID-19 community levels will be measured and what school and community mitigation strategies are recommended. A summary follows:

• Three new COVID-19 community levels have been identified: low, medium, and high. At this time, Chester County is in the medium community level.
• Masking indoors is recommended when the community level is at ‘high.’ When the level is ‘medium,’ those are at risk for severe illness should consult with their healthcare provider about the need to wear a mask.
• The CDC no longer mandates masks on school district buses and vehicles.

Families should continue to screen children for COVID-19 symptoms and keep students at home if they are sick. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 5 days and wear a mask for 10 days. If your child is symptom-free they may return to school on Day 6 and must wear a mask through Day 10. Please continue to contact your child’s school if they test positive for COVID-19.

We will continue to monitor community transmission rates and consult with local health officials and adjust our guidance as necessary. We will also continue our partnership with the Chester County Health Department, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for BinaxNow testing.

Masks will still be available for all students, and students may choose to wear a mask at any time.

The CASD Board of Directors has authorized the administration to revise the Health and Safety Plan and implement those revisions between Board meetings when health authority guidance has changed.

We will continue to communicate with you and keep you updated on any changes.

We want to thank our families for the wonderful surprise snacks and treats this morning. The staff enjoyed snack bags, chocolates, sodas, tea, and supplies for their classrooms. They filled bags and left the staff dining room with smiles on their faces making comments such as, "This is wonderful!" and "It is like Christmas!" We truly appreciate our wonderful families. Thank you for a great start to our day!

We want to congratulate the Cast and Crew of the Paint and Patch Theater Club for 2 amazing shows this past weekend! It was very clear that the students and their director, Mr. DiGiuseppie, put countless hours into a wonderful production. Great job to all!

This week we pulled 10 ROCK winners for prizes due to not having school last Friday. Our prize winners were: Armani Feliciano, Clinton Watson, Zy Brown, Ganashia White, Abrielle Butler, Gracie Yoder, Kimmie Harlan, Aaysha Thompson, Jaki Marshall, and Takijah Lynch. Keep up the great work!

CAIHS Families,

Below are the dates for the upcoming PSSA and Keystone Testing in the Spring. This year only students who are assigned to take the yearly exams will be coming to school that day. The students who are not assigned to take a test that day will have a virtual day. They are expected to complete the assignments on their Teachers Canvas page. For example, when 8th grade is taking the PSSA test the 9th grade students will be at home on a virtual school day. Each student will be notified what days they are to attend for testing.

April 25: PSSA ELA Section 1 and 2

April 26: PSSA ELA Section 3

May 2: PSSA Math Section 1 and 2

May 4: PSSA Science Section 1 and 2

May 16: Keystone ELA Section 1 and 2

May 17: Keystone Math Section 1 and 2

May 19: Keystone Science Section 1 and 2

Pearls is a mentoring group that educates, motivates, and inspires teenage females here at the Coatesville Area Intermediate and High School. The club is returning to in-person meeting and they meet evert Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in CASH's library. Please stop in for meeting and become a member.

Just a friendly reminder that the Coatesville Area School District continues to offer COVID-19 testing to students who become symptomatic during school hours. Our school nurses have been trained in the administration of BinaxNOW Tests and Cue (PCR) Tests.

Please note that students must have completed parental consent form on file with school nurse in order to be eligible to participate in this voluntary testing program. Please download consent form. Participants must create personalized QR Test Code by following directions below.

Registration for Student QR Test Code: · Click https://register.pennrapidtest.org/ or enter this url into your web browser (the app is not compatible with Internet Explorer but should work on most other browsers).

Follow instructions on screen, which include answering questions about (child’s) demographic information to create personalized QR code.

Please submit completed parental consent form and QR Test Code to school nurse.

Covid Consent Form

Please see the attached video from Mrs. Snyder the CASH Principal. This video will explain the different pathways to graduation that is required by the PA Department of Education

PathwaystoGraduation