I would like to take this opportunity to update you on new guidance for schools pertaining to COVID-19 from Governor Murphy, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and the Burlington County Department of Health (BCDOH). As anticipated, this situation is changing day by day as we move into new phases of this pandemic. Accordingly, we must adjust our action plans.
As of this writing, there are NO students or staff in Burlington County who have the Coronavirus.
The contact-tracing deployed by the BCDOH identifies exactly where exposure occurs and those organizations are immediately informed by officials. The communication from the BCDOH to district leaders in our county has been outstanding.
Under this new official guidance LRHSD is cancelling or postponing all events hosted in our school buildings and field trips. We are also notifying any outside community groups/organizations utilizing our indoor facilities their event is cancelled. And, in an effort to limit our students and staff to potential exposures, visitors, guest speakers, volunteers will be restricted at our school buildings.
Complete lists of event and trip cancellations up until Spring Break are posted on our websites and will be updated as extensions to the timeline may be necessary.
Our staff and students have worked hard all year to receive recognition at awards ceremonies, perform spring musicals, jazz concerts and art shows to name a few, and while this is a disappointing determination it is the only decision to make under these rapidly changing circumstances.
The principals are currently working on rescheduling events or refunding families (where needed and if possible) and will have more specific information as soon as possible.
Please accept our appreciation for working with us to keep our students and staff virus free. As you are aware this is a rapidly changing situation from hour to hour and I will continue to update our school community.
For more information about COVID-19, visit our school district website at www.lrhsd.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Carol L. Birnbohm
Superintendent of Schools