Dear Pattonville families and staff,

Pattonville has worked closely with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) throughout the pandemic to keep everyone in our schools and buildings as safe and healthy as possible. 

Based on recent research and information, including CDC studies involving Pattonville, the DPH recently released new updates for schools that will change how quarantines are handled for the remainder of the school year. While these changes do not eliminate classroom quarantines entirely, they do offer additional criteria that may allow us to quarantine fewer students in some cases. In the event that there is a classroom exposure, impacted families will receive details regarding quarantine requirements specific to your student’s classroom situation.

The most significant change is that quarantine of an entire elementary school classroom will not automatically be the default. Because of this, it will be imperative that proper mask use is being practiced and that cohorts are maintained in the classroom. Pattonville will have the ability to use a modified version of quarantine for students when their exposure meets certain criteria. 

Under modified quarantine, K-12 students will be allowed to attend school while under quarantine if certain conditions are met, but they are not allowed to participate in any after-school or extracurricular activities. The goal of modified quarantine is to allow students to continue their classroom learning without disruption when it is safe to do so. Modified quarantines only apply to students, per DPH guidelines. If your child is currently in quarantine and this new guidance impacts the duration of that quarantine, a school official will contact you.

Evidence suggests that the risk for transmission of COVID-19 is substantially lower in children, compared with adults. Additionally, studies have shown that, when proper mitigation practices are in place, such as those in Pattonville, classroom settings have relatively low transmission rates compared with other settings. Pattonville will continue to follow county guidance as we have throughout the pandemic, and more detailed information will be provided in the event your child has an exposure at school.  As always, thank you for your continued support. 

Sincerely,

Tim Pecoraro

Superintendent of Schools