Thousands Of Students Remain Under “Stay At Home” Directive. Mask Compliance Near 100 Percent.
District To Permit Parents To Upload Vaccine Results To Avoid Student Quarantines.
BY: COVID DESK | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Palm Beach County School District now reports more than 5,000 students and employees have tested positive for COVID-19 during the barely six weeks that schools have been in session this year. As cases soar, the school district is expected to announce a new policy that permits vaccinated students to avoid “stay at home” directives.
Thousands of students are under a “stay at home” directive this morning. The school district’s equivalent of a “quarantine,” students who come into extended contact with a COVID-positive person must stay home for several days — until a professionally administered COVID test is administered and returns a negative result.
Under a policy expected to be announced later this week, the school district will allow parents to upload a proof of vaccine to school health officials. Once confirmed as legitimate, the school district will NOT require vaccinated students to miss school for anything other than a positive COVID test.
Sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that while sharing vaccine status is not mandatory, it will serve as an incentive for kids to stay in school. Children whose parents claim received a full course of COVID vaccine but do not show legitimate, verifiable proof, will still be required to stay home after exposure.
Meantime, the controversy over masking isn’t much of a controversy at all. Student compliance, according to those familiar with the matter, is nearly 100 percent.
“Kids do what their friends do,” said a source. “While a some parents make noise, when given the chance, most students repeatedly do the right thing, because their friends are doing the right thing.”
Wednesday morning, the Palm Beach County School District reports that 5,068 people have tested for COVID-19, with a split of 4,386 students and 682 employees.
Among area schools with notable COVID-19 counts:
Boca Raton High School: 110 cases.
Boca Raton Middle: 55 cases.
Calusa Elementary: 50 cases.
Del Prado Elementary: 22 cases.
Don Estridge High Tech Middle: 36 cases.
Jupiter High: 124 cases.
Morikami Park Elementary: 21 cases.
Olympic Heights High: 61 cases.
Omni Middle: 37 cases.
Polo Park Middle: 68 cases.
Seminole Ridge High: 141 cases.
Spanish River High: 46 cases.
Sunrise Park Elementary: 36 cases.
Verde K-8: 61 cases.
Wellington High: 114 cases.
West Boca Raton Community High: 39 cases.
Whispering Pines Elementary: 18 cases.
Woodlands Middle School: 75 cases.
The school district’s official count is often a few days behind “reality,” as it takes time for school officials — and the Florida Department of Health — to verify case reports before announcing them publicly.
