*Please note, the number quarantining and/or excluded is based on those that were identified as close contacts of a COVID positive person, those that are awaiting test results, or those that are excluded based on MN Department of Health COVID-19 decision tree criteria.  Because of the universal face covering mandate in place at the E-8 grade levels, quarantining is not required if a student is identified as a close contact at school.

Temporary Mask Mandate

At the January 20, 2022 School Board Special Meeting, the Board made the decision to institute a temporary mask mandate for students in grades 9-12 and for students in the S.A.I.L. program. All staff of and visitors to Minnetonka High School, the S.A.I.L. transition program, VANTAGE facilities and MOMENTUM facilities must also follow this new requirement, which is in effect during school hours, from Monday, January 25, 2022 through Friday, February 25, 2022 allowing for the same exemption protocols that are currently in place for E-8 students.

General Requirements

Requirements on face coverings have changed from last year for many students and staff. For the 2021-22 school year:

The Board has determined that all students and staff in Grades K-8 and visitors in the elementary and middle school buildings will be required to wear face coverings inside the buildings. There will be a process for exceptions for medical reasons only. If you have questions about medical exemptions, please contact the District’s health services director Annie Lumbar Bendson at annie.lumbarbendson@minnetonkaschools.org

By federal requirement, face coverings are required on all school buses.

The District has a supply of N95 and KN95 masks in different sizes. These masks will be available by request from school offices at the start of the year.

While we encourage parents to purchase a good supply of N95 or KN95 masks for their students to use after the initial few distributions at the schools, other face coverings are, of course, allowed.

Staff and students who are eligible but have not been vaccinated are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.  The vaccine will help control the infection of the recipients and help protect others from getting the virus.

To find a vaccine location, click here.

• The District will provide appropriate supplies in our schools and buildings to support healthy hygiene behaviors (such as soap, hand sanitizer, paper towels, disinfectant wipes, tissues) 
• The District discourages sharing of items that are difficult to clean or disinfect.
• The District will work to separate students’ belongings (in individually labeled containers, cubbies, lockers, etc.).
• The District will provide adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high touch materials to the extent possible (e.g., assigning each student their own art supplies, equipment)
• The District will ask students to avoid sharing high touch items, such as electronic devices.
• Students should not share food or beverages. Each student should bring their own water bottle. Water-filling stations are available.
• Plexiglass barriers are available to place between students in classrooms.  
• The District will reinforce handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and/or the safe use of hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol by staff and older students.
• The District will reinforce hand washing during key times, such as:
  • arrival and dismissal
  • before, during, and after preparing or eating food
  • after using the bathroom
  • after blowing one’s nose, coughing, or sneezing
  • after touching objects with bare hands that have been handled by other people

• Parents/guardians and/or individuals must complete a home screening before sending their children to school/programming, which can be found here.
• The District will work to minimize interaction of students between drop-off and entrance to school facilities, promoting three feet of social distancing as much as possible.
• The District will encourage social distancing in hallways and common areas.
• Students will be encouraged to wash their hands when entering the classroom (if a sink is available in the room) or on the way to the classroom.  

Temperature-taking will be available to all students and staff at the beginning of the day.

Students will occasionally pass from one class to another in the elementary schools, and they should be carefully managed to maintain social distancing both ways in the hallways.  Middle school and high school students will be passing after each period and should be managed to ensure proper social distancing to the extent possible.  Students should stay to their right as they move through the hallways and enter rooms.  Clustering in the hallways should be avoided.

The goal is to continue to encourage good hygiene, frequent cleaning, and healthy behaviors in eating areas, including social distancing of three feet as much as possible. Staff will support the cleaning of surfaces between lunches.  Students will be encouraged to clean their spaces as they leave the respective area.

Students in Grades 9-12 will be served their lunches in the cafeteria at the High School.  Students will continue to be able to eat lunch in the Cafeteria or the South Commons area. Students who have concerns about eating in the cafeteria will have an option to eat in a designated gym. They will be able to reserve a desk in that gym for a separated eating area that will allow significant spacing.  These measures will allow for social distancing of three feet, as much as possible. 

Students in middle schools will be served in their cafeterias, and designated cohort groups will be identified for every student.  Students will be required to sit with their cohort group.  Social distancing of three-feet will be expected, as much as possible.  Students will self-select their cohort group for seating at lunch.  Each quarter students will have approximately two weeks to select a different group.  Students will then remain in their assigned group for the remainder of the quarter.  The process will be repeated each quarter.  This system will allow staff to more accurately and efficiently do contact tracing, if needed.  

Students in Grades K-5 will be served lunches in the lunchrooms and/or classrooms based on social distancing guidelines as well as the space availability in each school.  The balance between eating in the cafeteria and classrooms will vary among the schools.  Every effort should be made to provide the three-foot distancing in the eating area.  Students eating in the lunchrooms should sit with their class.

A critical aspect of Minnetonka’s efforts to provide a safe environment for all occupants of our school buildings and offices is the high-quality protection provided by the District’s ventilation system and the auxiliary system of air purifiers in classrooms and offices throughout the schools.  This system assures that appropriate fresh air is introduced to every room frequently and minute particles, including the Coronavirus, are removed before infecting inhabitants. Therefore, the District provides two important layers of protection to inhabitants of all rooms in the District through its high-quality ventilation systems that have been certified by engineers and air purification systems that have been installed in all classrooms and offices.  These purifiers provide extraordinary protection by removing germs from the air at a level necessary to extract the COVID virus.

The District had mechanical engineers from ATSR Architects & Engineers review all of our mechanical ventilation systems to verify that they were performing up to fresh air quality standards required by building codes, which are in alignment with fresh air standards for buildings set by the American Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE). The District received confirmation from them that our ventilation systems were performing as necessary to provide the proper fresh air per occupant. This was very important for the District to know, so that we could be confident in continuing to use District buildings all year long during the first full school year during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Fresh air supply is very important.

The District was also interested in providing another level of safe air in each building and it was able to locate a unit built by Medify Air (www.medifyair.com) that filters at HEPA13 level, which is commonly referred to as medical grade, and filters down to 0.100 micron. This is very important because the COVID-19 virus is 0.125 microns in diameter, and it was necessary to have filtering down to that level to be able to trap it. There were many other air purification systems available that would filter to 0.200 or 0.300 microns, which would not trap the COVID-19 virus. At that time, this was the only one that the District could find on the market that would filter down to 0.100 micron.  The District purchased 1,159 of those units so that we could equip every classroom, specialist room, media center, music room, office and place of work in the District with at least one, and we put several in larger spaces.

The District purchased MA-40 units, which can filter all the air in a classroom every approximately 30 minutes. The important thing about these units, in addition to trapping the virus in the filter, is that they set up an air flow that pulls air down and away from noses and mouths of room occupants. So, if a person is talking, or sneezing, or coughing, any microscopic droplets that they may eject are entrained in the air flow (viruses cannot "swim upstream") and are drawn down and away from noses and mouths.

Parent volunteers will be allowed in the schools this year, and they will need to follow the expectations for students and staff in the respective buildings.

Minnetonka Public Schools does not monitor students, families or staff for travel.  For current recommendations and guidance, please visit the CDC’s website.

Regular testing for COVID will be an important aspect of the District’s effort to control any spread of COVID.  All students and staff will have frequent, optional testing available to them.  Positive results on these tests will require the positive person to quarantine. Again, testing will be optional, and for students, will only happen with parent consent. Additional expectations are as follows:

• The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommends that all staff and students who intend to participate in school in person get tested for COVID-19 regularly. This is in addition to anyone with symptoms or anyone who was exposed to someone who tested positive. 
• Testing will be optional and for students will only happen with parent consent. Active testing by students and staff will protect our progress and mitigate the spread of the virus.
• The District will continue on-site testing for staff, and it will offer it every week. We anticipate the State will expand opportunities for testing for students, and we will provide updates as more information becomes available. Also, the District is contracting with a private testing company to assure more frequent testing is available.
• Please be advised that the District accepts only laboratory-confirmed tests as valid results. These results must clearly state the person’s name, source of testing, date of testing, and test results.  While there are rapid test-at-home options now available on the market (that do not require samples to be sent into a lab), the District cannot accept these as valid results.
• Minnesota has an extensive statewide testing operation.  Residents have several ways in which they can access no-barrier testing, including community testing sites, a mail-order at-home test program, and clinics and hospitals across the state.  Tests remain no-cost to the individual, but it would be advisable to provide insurance information so the state can seek reimbursement from insurance companies.
• To find a no-barrier community testing site, click here.
• To find testing sites based on specific search criteria, click  here.
• Test kits to use at home can be picked up at the school or can be ordered here.

• The Minnetonka District will use the Minnesota Department of Health’s exclusion decision tree for students and staff with COVID-19 positive results, which can be found here.
  • If someone has one more common or two less common symptoms, their siblings and all others who are not fully vaccinated or have not had lab confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days and who live in the house should stay home too.
• The nurse in each building will be the identified point-of-contact (COVID-19 Program Coordinator) in the school building for COVID concerns.
• The program coordinator, program lead, coach, or support staff will be the identified point of contact for programming outside of the regular school day/year.
• Staff and students should be encouraged to self-monitor symptoms throughout the day and immediately report any symptoms to the Health Office or program staff. 
• If a student becomes injured or ill during the school day, staff will notify the Health Office.
  • Health office staff will assist the child and/or determine if they need to go home.
  • Students who are ill will be kept isolated from well students as much as possible until a parent can pick them up.
  • If a student is symptomatic at school, the school will notify a parent/guardian for the student to be picked up and the student will be required to wear a mask while waiting.  
• If a student becomes ill during programming outside of the regular school day/year, the program coordinator will follow the protocols established by the District.
  • ​​​​​​​Siblings and all others who are not fully vaccinated or have not had lab confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days and who live in the house will also be sent home.

Contact tracing will be done in the case of any staff or student who tests positive for COVID to determine close contacts.  Families and staff will be notified to inform them of a potential exposure, even if they or their child are not required to quarantine due to universal masking, vaccination status, or a previous infection with the 90 days preceding the exposure. The student or staff member who tests positive for COVID will be required to isolate until all three of these things are true:

• It has been at least 10 days since they first felt sick or tested positive (if asymptomatic); and,
• They feel better.  Their cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms are better; and,
• They have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.

If a student or staff member is notified of a positive COVID case during the regular school year, the following process should occur:

• If any staff (building or district) are made aware of a lab-confirmed COVID positive case, they will notify the school nurse at their site immediately.
  • Here is a list of all school nurses:
    • Beth McAuley-Clear Springs beth.mcauley@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Sara Johnson-Clear Springs sara.johnson@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Patty Stang-Groveland patty.stang@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Patrice Pieczynski-MMW patrice.pieczynski@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Diane Severin-Minnewashta diane.severin@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Carol Traynor-Deephaven carol.traynor@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Jackie Dickens-Deephaven jacqueline.dickens@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Hannah Coil-MME hannah.coil@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Kyleen Waterhouse-SAIL/ECSE kyleen.waterhouse@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Lauren Selnick-Excelsior lauren.selnick@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Sue Rockers-Scenic Heights sue.rockers@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Sarah Palmer-Scenic Heights sarah.palmer@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Angela Vanderheyden-MHS angela.vanderheyden@minnetonkaschools.org
    • Rhonda Kullman-MHS rhonda.kullman@minnetonkaschools.org
  • If they are not at a building, they will notify Annie Lumbar Bendson (Director of Health Services) at 952.401.5992 or annie.lumbarbendson@minnetonkaschools.org (preferred)
• The school nurse will conduct contact tracing to determine close contacts and will notify parents of the student’s exposure.
• The school nurse will determine if notification notices need to be sent out and if so, to whom. The administrative team will help to determine and support the notifications being sent out.
• If a student or staff member has been notified of a positive COVID case outside of the regular school year, the following process should occur:
  • If a supervisor, coach, coordinator, Principal, Athletic Director, etc. is made aware of a lab confirmed COVID positive case, they will notify Annie Lumbar Bendson (Director of Health Services) immediately at 952.401.5992 or annie.lumbarbendson@minnetonkaschools.org (preferred).
• The District is required to report all COVID positive results to the Minnesota Department of Health. 

All COVID-positive school community members are required to report their positive test results to their building and/or program supervisor.

For individuals who test positive for COVID, they will be required to isolate until all three of these things are true:

• It has been at least 10 days since they first felt sick or tested positive (if asymptomatic); and, 
• They feel better. Their cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms are better; and,
• They have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Minnetonka Schools will require a quarantine period for those identified as a close contact of a COVID positive case AND who do not qualify for an exemption from quarantine due to vaccine status or a previous COVID infection within the last 90 days.

Exposure at School/School Sponsored Activity

After exposure at school or in a school sponsored activity, the standard quarantine is a 10-day period.

 A shortened quarantine (5-day period) may be requested by completing the appropriate form, which can be found here. This requires a molecular/PCR test to be completed after a full 5 days of quarantine.  Testing is required on or after day five and a negative test result needs to be shown before returning to school or activities.

Exposure within the household

If a member of a household tests positive for COVID, all members of that household are subject to a quarantine period. The standard quarantine is a 14-day period for those students living in the same household as a COVID positive member.

A shortened quarantine (10-day period) may be requested by completing the appropriate form, which can be found here and ensure that it is housed in an area accessible to parents; otherwise, they end up asking for access from me. This requires a molecular/PCR test to be completed after a full 10 days of quarantine.  Testing is required on or after day ten and a negative test result needs to be shown before returning to school or activities.

There will be no quarantining of close contacts in the elementary and middle schools because of the mask requirement.  The Safe Learning Plan allows this exception that excludes students in an indoor classroom from quarantining when both the case and close contact were wearing well-fitting masks.

There are certain other circumstances where students and staff may be exempt from quarantine:

If someone has completed COVID-19 vaccination (two doses in a two-dose series or one dose in a one-dose series) and is exposed, they do not need to quarantine if ALL of the following are true: 

• The COVID-19 exposure was at least 14 days after their vaccination series was fully completed. 
• They do not currently have any symptoms of COVID-19. 
• They have provided documentation of their vaccination series to the school health office and/or Director of Health Services that clearly indicates their name, date(s) of vaccination, and vaccine brand.

If a student or staff member does not want to provide their vaccine information and/or testing results, then they will be subject to the quarantine.

If someone has previously been infected with COVID-19 and is subsequently identified as a close contact, they do not need to quarantine if ALL of the following are true: 

• Their COVID-19 illness was laboratory confirmed and exposure was within 90 days of their positive test. 
• They do not currently have any symptoms of COVID-19. 
• They have provided documentation of their COVID positive results to the school health office and/or Director of Health Services that clearly indicates their name, source of testing, date of testing, and positive test results.

If a student or staff member does not want to provide documentation around their positive test results, then they will be subject to a quarantine.

Additionally, it is up to the health office staff and/or Director of Health Services to determine if ALL of the criteria were met for exemption from quarantine with the final determination made by the school district using the guidelines outlined above.

Added academic support will be available to all students struggling with the instruction provided virtual or in-person.  Specific information regarding the available support will be provided.

Within the limitations ordered by the MSHSL (Minnesota State High School League), the District will conduct athletic practices and games, as well as other activities, with only social distancing required when participants are not actively engaged in the specific events or practices.  Specifically, athletes who are sitting or standing on the sidelines of a practice or game, should strive to achieve a three-foot distance between athletes.  Coaches/supervisors should encourage participants to ride to and from events with parents, if at all possible, in order to avoid large numbers of event participants clustering together.

As the District has done during 2020-21, surfaces will be cleaned with sanitizing solutions regularly.

Classroom Cleaning Protocols

• Empty all trash and recycling container
• Fill paper towel and soap dispensers
• Sweep and vacuum the floors and rugs
• Clean and disinfect sink area with EPA rated disinfectant/cleaner.
• Mop floor with EPA rated disinfectant/cleaner.
• Disinfect tables and desktops and chairs with EPA registered disinfectant/cleaner.
• Disinfect all light switches, pencil sharpeners, door handles and other identifiable high touch areas with EPA rated disinfectant/cleaner.

 Common Area Cleaning Protocols

•  Sweep and scrub all hallways
• Empty trash and recycling containers
• Clean and disinfect all entryway doors
• Disinfect all stair railings, door handles, and other identifiable high touch areas
• Clean and disinfect all drinking fountains and water bottle refilling stations with EPA rated disinfectant.

 Restroom Cleaning Protocols

• Empty trash receptacles
• Fill all tissue and towel and soap dispensers
• Clean and disinfect all fixtures, partitions, and sinks with EPA rated disinfectant
• Clean mirrors
• Disinfect restroom door handles with EPA rated disinfectant.

Media Center and Office Area Cleaning Protocols

• Sweep and scrub all hallways
• Vacuum carpets
• Empty trash and recycling containers
• Clean and disinfect all entryway doors
• Disinfect all stair railings, door handles, and other identifiable high touch areas
• Clean and disinfect all drinking fountains and water bottle refilling stations with EPA rated disinfectant.

In-Classroom Lunch Cleaning Protocols

• Empty trash and recycling containers
• Clean and disinfect all surfaces used for lunch
• Disinfect door handles, and other identifiable high touch areas 

*Staff shift times will be adjusted to provide additional custodial support during lunch times as needed

Explorers is Minnetonka Schools child care program. For the 2021-22 School Year, Explorers will meet current safety and social distancing requirements from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and will follow the District's K-8 guidelines.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Jenny Bodurka at jenny.bodurka@minnetonkaschools.org.

Mental health support will be available to all students during the school year, and specific information regarding the support will be provided.

You can also visit the District's Well-Being Website to find more information about in- and out-of-district support for student well-being.

Minnetonka Nutrition Services will continue to provide meals to all students free of charge for the 2021-22 School Year. Specific school meal details are: 

Elementary: 

• School meals will be provided free of charge for those students that are attending school.
• Students will continue to eat lunch in their classrooms. 
• Students will be allowed to purchase milk for home lunches brought to school.
• Bottled water purchases have been discontinued for the time being. If preferred, please send a water bottle with your student to school. There are water bottle filling stations available throughout the building.
• Nutrition Services will accommodate the needs of students with specific food allergies.

Middle School:

• School meals will be provided free of charge for those students that are attending school.
• Students will pick up meals in the cafeteria and proceed to their assigned eating areas.  
• Snack Cart options and second entrée purchases will be available for purchase during lunch.
• Nutrition Services will accommodate the needs of students with specific food allergies.

High School:

• School meals will be provided free of charge for those students that are attending school.
• Students will pick up meals in the cafeteria and proceed to their assigned eating areas.  
• A la carte items will be available during lunch hours with limited offerings.
• Nutrition Services will accommodate the needs of students with specific food allergies.

Please note: Menus, procedures, and protocol may change due to updated guidance from the MN Department of Health, the MN Department of Education, and manufacturers’ product availability.
 

School Meal FAQ

Will students still be able to receive free lunches when students return back to school?

Yes, free school meals will continue to the last day of school.  For students in the secondary schools, there will be limited a la carte choices to add to a school or home lunch. All a la carte food items, including second entrees, will continue to be charged to the student’s lunch account.

Currently Lunch Menus are only posted weekly, why aren’t school menus posted monthly?

For our vendors, this pandemic is constantly evolving and brings new challenges daily with little to no advanced warning because vendor supply chains are sporadic as well.  Often, we have to change our food orders to what our food vendors have available.

• Due to the pandemic, food manufacturers are mandated to keep employees socially distanced and have barriers in place in the manufacturing plants.
  • When employees are quarantined either by exposure or infected with the virus they are unable to work from home to produce food -- this causes a trickle effect as suppliers are shorted ingredients they need to make their products
• A shortage of drivers has affected transportation and freight companies. As a result, freight is being delayed in reaching manufacturers and our vendors.
• Our main food vendor is experiencing very large last minute shortages.
• Suppliers have all distributors on allocation for many products, so our vendor is not receiving all the food they have ordered.

Our ultimate goal is to do the best we can with what is available.  This is only a temporary situation due to the pandemic. We know we can feed all our students, but it might not be all of their favorite meals.  We post our menus after we have verified that the food items ordered have arrived in the school kitchens. This allows us to change the menu, at the last minute, if we get food substitutions.

All resident students will be offered District-provided transportation to their assigned schools (students within two miles of their school will need to pay the fee set by the Board).  Non-resident students who can get to a bus stop within the District may ride District buses.  All passengers are being required by the CDC and State of Minnesota to wear masks for the duration of their trips on buses.  Normal distancing will be allowed.  These expectations include buses for District-sponsored athletics, field trips and group travel for programming.  Other requirements on the bus are as follows:

• Students from the same household are encouraged to sit together.
• Students may only ride the buses designated for their transportation to and from school. 
• Windows and roof hatches will be opened to the extent weather permits to increase airflow and circulation. 
• Buses will be cleaned and disinfected regularly using disinfectant products that are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for effective use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
  • The cleaning will focus on frequent cleaning of touched surfaces in the vehicle (e.g., surfaces near the driver’s seat, hard seats, door handles, seat belt buckles, doors and windows, grab handles).
• Doors and windows will be open when cleaning the vehicle and between trips to let the vehicles thoroughly air out. 

For more information about transportation for the 2021-22 school year, visit the Transportation Department webpage.

Questions? Please contact the Transportation Department at transportation@minnetonkaschools.org or 952-401-5023.