SE Oakland News

Berkley School District issued the following announcement on Aug 5.

I hope you are enjoying these last weeks of summer with your family.  As we look forward to school starting on August 30, there are similar and new protocols and guidelines that will be in place for staff and students. I’ve outlined some of the key protocols and requirements below, but we have also created a Return to School Plan PDF for everyone to read, as well as have posted the information to our website.

The Berkley School District's primary goal is to offer in-person instruction this entire school year, while protecting the health and safety of our students, school staff, and broader community from COVID-19. In order to do this safely, the District will follow the guidance and recommendations from public health experts. 

This plan was created with the guidance of the Oakland County Health Division, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Using this guidance as a road map for the 2021-22 back to school planning, the District met with principals, union leaders, teachers and staff members to listen to top safety concerns.

The biggest takeaways for our families include the following safety protocols as well as quarantine guidance for students and staff. When the local, state, and/or federal public health professionals change their guidance for schools, the District may change its protocols and requirements after reviewing the new recommendations.

• All staff and students PreK-12 (ages 2 and up), including Adult Transition students, will be required to wear a mask at all times, with the exception of eating or drinking
• Students and staff will not be required to wear a mask outdoors
• Berkley Schools will continue to work with the Oakland County Health Division to perform contact tracing
  • Per the guidance of public health officials, students or staff who are fully vaccinated do not have to quarantine if they are not showing COVID-19 symptoms
  • Students or staff who are identified as close contacts (3-6 feet from a COVID-19 positive student for more than 15 minutes in a 24 hour period) do not have to quarantine if both individuals were engaged in consistent and correct use of well-fitting masks and if the close contact is not showing COVID-19 symptoms

Keeping our staff and students safe from COVID-19 continues to be a top priority of the District as well as a community effort. Protecting students and staff through community vaccination efforts, mask wearing and following public health guidelines will help prevent COVID-19 from spreading in our schools. We also ask our parents and guardians to continue to notify school personnel if their child has been exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19.

District staff are excited and ready for a school year that feels much closer to normal than the last year and a half. Together we can make this happen. We thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Please take time to review the seven page document outlining the safety protocols, in-person instruction details as well as health and notification guidelines before school begins. We will continue to be in touch as the health experts modify or update their recommendations for K-12 schools and will notify you if there are changes to our Return to School Plan.