Superintendent's Letter

August 31, 2020

Parents, Staff and Students,

     Welcome back to school! We have come a long way together in this fight against the COVID-19 virus and it is so good to see our students back learning online and in-person for the start of a new school year. It is also good to see our students have the opportunity to play sports, play in the band, cheer and work out on campus. We need to make the most of every moment that we enjoy the privilege of receiving instruction and participating in the activities that we love. There is a life lesson in understanding that these experiences can be taken away in the blink of an eye with this COVID-19 pandemic. The success of our return to school, and return to the fields of play, is dependent upon each of us doing our part, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to control the spread of this nasty virus. Wearing facial coverings, washing/sanitizing hands frequently, not touching our face, maintaining reasonable social distancing and keeping high touch areas clean are all essential for us to continue enjoying the privilege of face-to-face activities.

     I personally thank each and every one of you for supporting the necessary changes we have had to make to bring about this successful start to a new school year. While we do not like wearing facial coverings, not filling our stands with spectators at events, social distancing, and not being able to gather in groups, we must realize that in order to defeat this COVID-19 virus we must do what we “should” and not what we “want.” They are relatively small inconveniences and sacrifices that each of us can bear for the greater good of all. We will defeat this virus. We will be able once again to interact more closely with each other. We will be able to put aside the facial coverings. And we will be able to participate more fully in the experiences we like and want again. But, for now we must sacrifice and endure together these inconveniences to successfully fight this virus.

     We are working very closely with the Licking County Health Department to monitor positive COVID-19 cases within our school district population of 10,306. I will be posting weekly updates to our district website (www.johnstown.k12.oh.us) showing school age and total positive COVID-19 cases. We will also be notifying parents and guardians moving forward when we have a positive case occur in our schools. There is no set number of cases that will cause our schools to close. The Licking County Department of Health will be closely monitoring daily attendance data, along with COVID-19 positive confirmed cases to advise when and if we need to close a grade level, building or district.

     Again, I thank you for your patience and support as we all learn to live with this virus and strive to defeat it thorough our collective adherence to the prescribed face covering, social distancing and healthy hygiene practices.

Sincerely,

Dale L. Dickson,
Superintendent