Online Resource Helps Keep Community Informed of COVID-19 Impact on Schools

Polk County Public Schools has created a new resource for parents, employees and members of the public who seek further information about the impact of COVID-19 on their school communities.

In conjunction with the Florida Department of Health, PCPS has created polkschoolsfl.com/covidschoolcommunications.

"We know how important it is to communicate with our community and to keep them as informed as possible during these very uncertain times," said Rachel Pleasant, senior director of communications. "We are grateful to the FDOH for their partnership in all of our COVID-related communications efforts and in making this new resource available on our website."

Prior to the 2020-21 school year, PCPS worked with the FDOH to develop COVID-19 communications procedures. As part of those procedures, PCPS sends an automated telephone and email message to a school community when there is at least one confirmed positive case of COVID-19. The message will contain the number of confirmed positive cases at the respective school.

At the new webpage, visitors can view a standard COVID-19 message, a list of the schools that have received the message, and the number of confirmed positive cases reported in each message.

After receiving the mass message from the district, individuals who came into close contact with the confirmed positive case will be contacted directly to discuss how long they should self-quarantine and other health-related instructions. Affected individuals will also receive communication from their school about how they will continue learning or working while under quarantine.

In all COVID-related communications, the district will abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and will not identify anyone who has tested positive or release any potentially personally identifiable details.

More information about the district's response to the pandemic can be found at polkschoolsfl.com/reopening.