COVID-19 cases among children in Union County
News August 23, 2021
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – As the Delta Variant spreads in Union County and Georgia, confirmed cases in children continue to outpace previous COVID-19 strains.
On August 12, Union County reported a total of 245 confirmed cases in the 0 to 22 age group. One week later, the Department of Public Health recorded 21 new cases for the age range. For comparison, the case change from the August 6 report to August 13 was nine.
Union County from July 31 to August 13 documented 59 new cases total and has recorded 2,361 cases since last year.
The Delta Variant is highly contagious. Health professionals have compared its transmission rate to chickenpox spread. The number of COVID-19 cases in children jumped over 1,100 percent when Delta hit Georgia.
“In a completely unmitigated environment—where no one is vaccinated or wearing masks—it’s estimated that the average person infected with the original coronavirus strain will infect 2.5 other people,” Dr. F. Perry Wilson, a Yale Medicine epidemiologist, says. “In the same environment, Delta would spread from one person to maybe 3.5 or 4 other people.”
Several schools started back at the beginning of August, and the virus spread is evident. Union County Primary had to close its building for this week because too many teachers were out sick. UCS 2021-2022 school year started on August 12. The previous week Towns County Elementary closed for the same reason too many ill staff.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) keeps track of COVID-19 in children and release school-age data each week. A breakdown of Union County’s 14-day case rate for children indicated significant increases in the school-age group.
8/12 Union County Case Report
- 0-4 – 1 case
- 5-17 – 9 cases
- 18-22 – 3 cases
- 23+ – 73 cases
8/20 Union County Case Report
- 0-4 – 5 cases (+4)
- 5-17 – 17 cases (+8)
- 18-22 – 8 cases (+5)
- 23+ – 115 cases (+42)
While DPH doesn’t provide a county-by-county breakdown of hospitalizations, it includes statewide data on the topics. These reports come out every week and cover two weeks of data.
DPH COVID-19 in Children graph
Emergency room visits related to COVID-19 in children are spiking along with respiratory-related visits. However, hospitalizations appear to have taken a turn downward in most age groups.
Statewide the 5-17 age range is facing the most significant spike in the school-age report. When broken down, 5-10 and 14-17 are experiencing a laboratory higher case rate than 11-13. It’s unclear why from the information provided by the DPH.
Union County Schools COVID-19 Procedures
Union County Schools have procedures regarding positive cases, close contact, quarantine, isolation, and seating charts to try and keep its students safe.
A close contact student, who’s within three feet of a positive case, must quarantine for five days.
Positive students must quarantine for ten days and may return to school after symptoms end or 24 hours without a fever or fever-reducing medicine.
None of these students can participate in extracurricular, after-hours, or athletic activities.
Potentially exposed employees can still work under the essential worker status. If they exhibit any COVID-19 related symptoms, they must inform their supervisor, and essential worker status will be revoked. These individuals must quarantine for ten days from the onset of symptoms.
For the time being, the parents can decide on the necessity of a mask. On Friday, August 20, Assistant Superintendent Dr. David Murphy told FYN that a mask mandate is a “diametrically opposed issue. Families have determined what they feel is best for them. We believe that wearing a mask is the parent/student’s right to choose.”
Additionally, Murphy explained the elementary, middle, high, and Woody Gap Schools aren’t experiencing the same staff absenteeism as the primary school.
COVID-19 K-12 breakdown from DPH
The Primary had nearly four times the percentage of teachers absent than its closest school by comparison. They simply didn’t have enough staff to operate the building effectively.
Pfizer vaccine was fully approved for individuals who are 16 and older on Monday, August 23. Children 12 and older can also receive a vaccine under emergency use authorization.
Children younger than 12 haven’t been cleared to take the vaccine yet. It’s currently undergoing testing.
UCS issues temporary mask mandate, suspends games for one week
News, Panther's Corner January 5, 2021
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, Union County Board of Education moved to heighten virus precautions in the classroom with a mask mandate.
Students returned to class today, January 5, from winter break. Previously, the school encouraged masks but didn’t require face coverings for students. Now all students and teachers must wear a mask except for eating or drinking. Children with medical excuses will receive appropriate accommodations, such as a face shield.
Students exposed to COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days, and those not following the COVID-19 protocols will be sent home. The school enhanced social distancing and meal mitigations when possible.
Additionally, the nine-week requirement for online learning was suspended until case numbers go back down. If a parent or guardian doesn’t feel comfortable sending their child to school, they can participate in online learning until a parent deems it safe. Parents and guardians against the mask policy were asked to keep their child at home until the old policies are reinstated.
The data following the black vertical line depicts the recent rise in quarantines and confirmed COVID-19 cases in the school. The orange dotted line = student quarantines. The red line = student positives. The black dotted line = staff quarantine. The black line = staff positives.
The board decided to cancel athletic events for the week of January 4 to 9. Practices will still take place. Each week the athletic department will decide the game schedule and cancellations. Once games resume, attendance will be limited with a mask requirement in place for fans. The school’s looking into livestreaming events.
Board members agreed that face-to-face instruction must continue until it’s no longer feasible for the system. The current UCS update placed 30 staff in quarantine or positive for COVID-19. If the situation doesn’t improve, the district could move to online-only learning.
Newest board member and Union General Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Julia Barnett stated that she views schools as a controlled environment. By keeping children in schools, it’s easier to manage their environments and contact trace.
Several schools districts in the Pioneer RESA opted to go online only for the foreseeable future, including Rabun, Banks, Gainesville, Hall Hart, Lumpkin, Madison, and White. Pickens County announced its decision to close for another week yesterday.
Union County discussed canceling games with schools that were online only but allowing athletic activities, citing that if the district is too sick to attend in-person classes, then should they be traveling to play sports.
https://youtu.be/7u1UR8L7s-c2 positive students and 4 staff COVID-19 cases at UCS
Community, News, Panther's Corner August 14, 2020BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County Schools (UCS) released coronavirus, COVID-19 numbers on Friday, August 14. Currently, two students and four staff members have positive cases.
27 students and 17 staff members are currently under quarantine for possible exposure.
Students and faculty return to in-person instruction on August 17, and the students and faculty under quarantine or with positive cases won’t be in attendance. According to school policy, only those who test negative for COVID-19 can attend in-person class.
According to the school’s policy, anyone who tests positive can’t return for “at least 10 days following the onset of COVID-19 symptoms or receiving a positive test result AND be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication AND have an improvement in respiratory symptoms.”
Quarantined individuals must stay home for at least 14 days even if symptom-free. If they develop symptoms, the quarantine may be extended from symptoms onset. Also, students with a confirmed diagnosis in the home will be quarantined an additional 14-days from when the family’s quarantine time ends.
If hospitalized or severely immunocompromised from the virus, students must stay home “at least 20 days since symptoms first appeared AND be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications AND have an improvement in respiratory symptoms.”
While quarantining from home, students can participate in the online learning program.
UCS will be providing a weekly COVID-19 update concerning positive cases and possible exposures. These updates aren’t meant to alarm but provide public information.
Face masks are highly recommended for all students and will be available to students and faculty on campus. Students will be required to wear face masks during class changes, school nurse visits, and safety drills.
Each week the school buildings will be deep-cleaned over a three day period.
To review UCS’s reopening plan, follow the link, here.
As for closure, UCS is following Georgia’s Department of Education (GaDOE) District Decision Tree.
UCS awarded $3 million grant for college and career academy
Board of Education, Community, Panther's Corner July 29, 2020
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County Schools (UCS) was one of three districts in the state to receive the College and Career Academy (CCA) grant for $3 million. The school will establish the first multi-state CCA in Georgia.
UCS has several similar program initiatives with its Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) efforts, but the grant money will allow them to expand their offerings. Students will also have opportunities for dual enrollment through some of the CTAE programs.
CTAE Director Josh Davis explained why UCS decided to apply, “After researching the grant process last summer and discussing with our stakeholders, we realized we already had many of the CCA best practices in place. We decided to write the grant and go through the grant process, and all of our business, community, and post-secondary partners played a big role.”
It’s a reimbursable facility grant, and the school will move forward with the College and Career Academy with the board of education’s guidance. The grant was appropriated through the Georgia legislature and gives a school system five years to spend the allotted funds. The first year will focus on planning and strategy to identify the best path forward.
CTAE Director Josh Davis spearheaded the CCA grant process.
As for the area of focus, Davis added, “Initially, we will utilize our current program offerings including automotive technologies, computer programming, construction, cybersecurity, engineering, entrepreneurship, nursing, sports medicine, and welding. We will develop new programs if needed as local workforce needs change and resources are available.”
The skilled training provided by a CCA allows students to seek out specific high demand, high wage jobs available within the region, which will enhance their employment opportunities. It’s a win-win for students and regional employers.
“We’ve had wonderful support from our business community. They’re hungry for employees,” explained Superintendent John Hill. “They’re a lot of employers that need employees in their high skilled, high wage jobs…Now some go to college, but a bulk goes to technical school and receives some really good training, and a lot of it, we can do in-house here.”
Chairman Hunter spoke with Technical College System Project Manager Frank Pinson over the phone.
Current Union County business partners include Advanced Digital Cable, Bank OZK, Chick-fil-A, Corrugated Replacements Inc., Lamin-X, Nelson Tractor, Panel Built, Pat’s Hallmark, The Saw Mill Place, Union General Hospital, Union County Chamber of Commerce, Union County Economic Development Authority, United Community Bank Inc., and WJRB Radio. Community partners from neighboring counties and North Carolina include Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Brasstown Valley Resort, Moog Industries Inc, and Snap-On. North Georgia Technical College, the University of North Georgia, and Young Harris College are the post-secondary education partners.
Technical College System of Georgia Project Manager Frank Pinson called into the July Board of Education meeting to congratulate UCS and expressed his enthusiasm for the school’s initial idea.
“You’re going to establish Georgia’s first multi-district model that extends across state lines…we had the privilege way back in March of coming up and visiting with them. John and Josh took us over to neighboring counties that you’ll be partnering with. We just couldn’t be more excited about Union County and everything that you’re going to be able to accomplish up there,” Pinson expressed.
“We’re equally excited about this. I can’t wait. Once we get this going, you’ll be able to take a tour of our facilities again and see what we’ve done with the good taxpayer monies that we’ve been able to secure from you guys,” said Chairman Tony Hunter.
Evans and Appling County were the other two school systems to receive the CCA grant.
https://youtu.be/wLImaVwmWPM?t=1410Feature image from Georgia Career Academies Facebook.
L4GA grant brings literacy to all local children
Board of Education, Community, Panther's Corner July 29, 2020
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) awarded Union County School System (UCS) $3.2 million over five years to advance literacy efforts.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Paula Davenport was instrumental in UCS receiving the L4GA grant.
As a recipient of the Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading in Georgia (L4GA) grant, UCS will focus on creating plans for children from birth to 12th grade. Additionally, the school will partner with the community to effectively reach all local children.
UCS was at the top of the list to receive the grant, according to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Paula Davenport.
GaDOE considers “the poverty level of a community, the percentage of students reading below grade level, the recent rate of growth in the number of students reading above grade level, and whether a school is identified for support from the Department of Education’s School Improvement team.”
From a GaDOE release on the program:
“Introduced in 2016, L4GA is a unique approach to improving literacy that pairs community-driven action with research-proven instruction. In its first round, funded by a federal Striving Readers grant of $61.5 million, 38 school districts partnered with early learning and care providers as well as community organizations to implement community efforts and improve classroom instruction. By working together, schools, early learning providers and caretakers, and community leaders are moving the needle on literacy – in 2019, third-grade students showed significant gains in English Language Arts and grade-level reading.”
UCS has developed a slogan for the program “literacy is for everyone” or “LIFE” for short. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Davenport explained the school will develop tailored programs to meet each child’s interest from digital books to picture books and graphic novels.
“Whatever it takes to get a child to read,” she added.
Davenport also spoke about how literacy is more than just reading; it’s drawing, listening, and writing. Each area of focus will help children gain a holistic understanding and appreciation of literacy.
The public library, daycare programs, families, and businesses will play an essential role in granting greater access to materials. For instance, parents will be encouraged to read bedtime stories to their children.
With the first planning meeting this week, the initial implementation of the L4GA program will probably be adaptable due to COVID-19. The first year might become more digital to protect the health of everyone involved.
UCS students have scored highly in literacy in the past, but low in writing. Davenport hopes the holistic approach of the L4GA program will lead to an improvement in writing scores as well. Typically, the school uses Milestone test scores to judge students’ abilities, but currently, the most recent data is from 2018-2019. Georgia canceled the Milestone tests for 2019-2020 and could do the same in 2020-2021 because of COVID-19.
L4GA brings together the entire community to support the whole child.
Teams from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University will be collecting data from L4GA districts to document positive practices and gauge the overall impact of the L4GA Project.
A total of 23 schools received the grant for 2019. The award total was $22,101,554.
L4GA 2019 Grantees: Burke County Schools, Butts County Schools, Charlton County Schools, Clayton County Schools, Cook County Schools, Elbert County Schools, GaDOE State Schools, Glascock County Schools, Grady County Schools, Haralson County Schools, Lanier County Schools, Liberty County Schools, Newton County Schools, Paulding County Schools, Pike County Schools, Pulaski County Schools, Rockdale County Schools, Terrell County Schools, Toombs County Schools, Treutlen County Schools, Troup County Schools, Union County Schools, Vidalia City Schools.
https://youtu.be/wLImaVwmWPM?t=1317“School districts selected for the first round of L4GA funding made great strides in student literacy learning,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I’m eager to see the progress made by our new grant recipients in the coming years. Making sure students are reading on grade-level remains mission-critical, top-priority work for the Georgia Department of Education, and we continue to seek all possible opportunities to support that work at the school and district level.”
Union County Schools gearing up for students’ return
Board of Education, News, Panther's Corner June 17, 2020
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County School System’s (UCS) exploring options for the 2020-2021 school year, so students and faculty can safely return to class – either in the building or online.
A more developed plan will be presented to the board of education in July pertaining to the school calendar and remote classroom possibilities for UCS students.
“We want to propose some calendar changes to you. However, we don’t want to lose any student days, and we don’t want to lose any teacher days. They’re just calendar changes,” Assistant Superintendent David Murphy explained.
For instance, the days leading up to Thanksgiving Break could become online learning days. The extra time at home would provide the custodial staff with additional time to sanitize the schools.
A socially distanced Pledge of Allegiance.
Murphy expanded on anticipated calendar changes, “Pretty much every month we have a long weekend built in different things. If we do an online learning day before or teacher workday and having that be done at home, that allows us a long weekend to re-sanitize the buildings. This allows us to deep clean the buildings once a month.”
On these long student weekends, the teachers could work from home as well. Since COVID-19, teachers proved that they could complete their job requirements outside of the school.
Board member Cynthia Odom asked how many days the custodial staff would need to “deep clean” the school. Two to three days would be ideal with hopefully only one day needed for off-site learning or workdays.
Facilities Director Patton confirmed that all the buildings are undergoing thorough summer cleaning, including deep stripping all the wax, shampooing the carpet, and sanitizing buses. All these efforts were done in-house too. UCS installed hand sanitizer dispensers in the buses for students to use.
Additionally, facilities held meetings about adding UV-lights to every classroom to detect and prevent COVID-19. Mobile UV lights spend eight minutes in a room to sanitize it. They’re also looking into placing iconic rods and UV lights in the air hangers to clean the air.
“We really need to have some clearer information as to what will be taking place,” added Murphy. “Governor’s orders keep changing, lightening the load. There’s a possibility of a resurgence. We don’t know but we would like to wait until July so that we have some more information under review.”
Online Classroom Option
Superintendent John Hill addressed the necessity of having an online classroom option for medically fragile students. UCS will send out a survey in the near future for parents, guardians, and students to fill out to gather interest and determine best practices.
“Normally, we would be real deep in scheduling at this point in time,” said Hill. “We’re kind of having to wait a little bit, our principles are, until we have hard numbers from our people that we serve here in the community. We need to hear from the people that we’re here to serve, what do you want? So, we’re committed to providing a solid option to those parents who want that option, and we’re hoping, praying, planning on a brick and mortar reopening. That is a huge asterisk disclaimer depending on the current situation.”
Superintendent John Hill stressed the importance of parental input for the next school year.
The survey will be released over email, social media, and the school’s website within the next 10 days.
“We’re here to serve the kids and will do what we have to, to serve our students,” Hill closed. “It’s really important we get participation in that survey, so we know how to allocate our services.”
Spending Resolution
The board also passed a spending resolution for July and August 2020 because UCS is waiting on the state to make its final decision concerning budget cuts. UCS hasn’t passed a new budget, and a resolution is necessary to pay the bills. Once passed, the school system can spend a twelfth of the expenditure budget for those months.
“I would like to tell the board that, of course, our goal during this time is to be as lean as possible and keep our expenditures as low as possible. With the uncertainty with the state budget cuts that our heading our way, one-twelfth is the max, but our goal is to come in as low as we can every month until we pass our budget,” Hill explained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4SyL5XJVNcKeeping children entertained during Coronavirus
Community, Education March 14, 2020
UNION COUNTY, Ga – As a precaution against COVID-19, children across Union County, and much of North Georgia, are home for the week and potentially even longer. For parents or guardians looking for ways to keep their children entertained, the community is offering some options.
Those individuals responsible for children are advised to create a schedule in order to make the transition easier. However, don’t feel pressured to stick to do. Students obviously need to complete their COLD packets for the week, but structure will assist in keeping children on-track and focused.
Sample COVID-19 schedule, courtesy of Facebook parents.
Also, a child’s COLD packet might not take up an entire day, so it’s good to have options ready for that possibility.
Of course, it’s also important to keep children physically active when possible, if the day is nice, make time to play in the yard or create an activity space in the house.
Crafting is another way to keep children entertained if parents, guardians, or babysitters have the materials readily available.
As equally important is alone time, if everyone is stuck at home, it could quickly devolve into fight night. To prevent that from happening, try to schedule a time for everyone to separate for an hour or two. This way children and parents or guardians can entertain themselves in the manner they see fit.
Some additional online learning options are available outschool.com covers a wide range of topics and brainpop.com focuses on STEM courses. Scholastic is also offering 20 days of free learning courses for children.
Storyline Online is a free literacy program where celebrities read to K-5 children and associated activities.
Local options
Blairsville Dance is offering online streaming classes to their students and opening several to the community for free. Children two and up can sign up, just follow the link.
The Art Department Studio is offering an in-person art camp for children from 9 to 13 for $35 per day from March 16 to 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The businesses said a 10 a.m. drop off is fine and an early pick-up with prior notification. Parents or guardians are asked to send children with lunch, snacks, and drinks and to not enroll a child who is feeling sick.
“We have soap and water and kids will be washing hands regularly, but feel free to send them with hand sanitizer if you wish. Also, we must be notified of any allergies. A parent/guardian will be requested to read/fill out/sign a form with your information. For info or to sign up, call the studio at (706)225-9713 or stop by! We are in Victoria’s plaza by the movie theatre/bowling alley. Thank you and stay healthy!” – The Art Department
Fetch Your News will continue to update this article with more opportunities as they become available.