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Manheim Township School District
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COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Resource Page

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Reporting Dashboard

 Active Confirmed
Positive
Covid-19 Cases*
Active Probable
Positive
Covid-19 Cases
Year-to-Date
Total Overall
Confirmed Positive
Covid-19 Cases
Manheim Township High School1073
Manheim Township Middle School1147
Landis Run Intermediate School0024
Brecht Elementary School006
Bucher Elementary School0013
Neff Elementary School004
Nitrauer Elementary School0019
Reidenbaugh Elementary School0011
Schaeffer Elementary School0013
School Building Totals21210
Remote Learners (K-12)0032
Other**106
District-Wide Totals31248

  • * Active Confirmed Cases are moved to the Total Overall Confirmed Positive Covid-19 Cases when there is no exposure within the school, or the district has a PDE approved "reset of case count" of numbers due to a closure. If a case had no building exposure, or the last date the individual was in the building was before a closing/extended weekend, which provided the district with time for continued cleaning and disinfecting thus resetting the case count, then this case would be added to the Year-to-Date totals. Definition of PDE's "Reset of Case Count": Once a school closes based on the number of cases in a rolling 14-day period, the school completes the cleaning and contact tracing, and then reopens, the count for the school would ‘reset’ back to 0. This would not affect the Year-to-Date Total Overall Confirmed Positive numbers, but only those case numbers identified for a building calculation for the rolling 14-day period. In the event the building case numbers require a school closure within the 14-day rolling period, the calculation resets after the closure.

  • ** Others include District Office Staff, Warehouse & Facilities Staff, Food Service Staff, and District-wide Staff.
  • The Dashboard is updated daily.
  • Individuals who have been placed on quarantine are not included in the dashboard information.
  • The overall total could change as test results from probable cases are received and determined to be negative, meaning a probable case is no longer considered positive and close contacts no longer need to quarantine.
  • Remote Learner data is included in a separate category since these students are not engaged in face-to-face instruction.

Overview

Click here for the most recent update

Manheim Township School District continues to remain in daily contact with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Please know that as part of the district’s emergency preparedness plan, our core safety team (that includes personnel from health services, plant services, and district administrators) meets frequently to discuss planning measures to address the current situation regarding the COVID-19/Coronavirus.

All Lancaster County school districts continue to communicate with each other and will participate in regular state-wide online superintendent briefings with officials from PDE. We will continue to communicate with our stakeholders as situations change and information becomes available. We will continue to share with you WHAT we know, WHEN we know it.

Below you will find resources and communications that we have already sent out district-wide to our parents and staff. We will continue to update the community as we receive information to share; it is our continued goal to keep our community informed and provide information on how this may affect our students, parents, and community members.

Most Recent Update

January 22, 2021

Dashboard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The district’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily, and we continue to work closely with and follow the guidance of the PA Department of Health. We communicate with you regularly regarding each new case that is confirmed so that all families and staff are aware of the status of our schools.  Please see the FAQs below for more information about the COVID-19 Dashboard and information provided regularly to our community.

What numbers are reported on the District’s COVID Dashboard?

The number of positive cases and probable cases of COVID-19 that have been reported to the school district and confirmed by the PA Department of Health. This Dashboard also includes the number of cases year-to-date. The confirmed positive and probable cases by building are within a 14-day rolling period.

I know some faculty/students who are on quarantine but it’s not on the Dashboard. Why?

We do not track the number of individuals under quarantine on the COVID Dashboard. Confirmed positive and probable cases reported on the Dashboard are those cases that occur with our faculty/staff or student population that have an impact on our schools in terms of exposures to others in the building. If a staff member or student is exposed to COVID-19 outside of school and is quarantining as a result, the case is not reported through our Dashboard (unless the individual becomes symptomatic) because it does not have an impact on our school. If the individual becomes symptomatic, then this is considered a probable case, and depending on details in the case investigation, may be reported in the Active Probable Column. The overall total could change as test results from probable cases are received and determined to be negative, meaning a probable case is no longer considered active and close contacts no longer need to quarantine.

Why does the Dashboard show zero active cases when the District reports cases each day?

All positive and probable cases are reflected on the Dashboard in either the Active Confirmed Positive or Active Probable columns (if there was building exposure), or added to the Year-to-Date totals for each building if there was no building exposure.  In some positive or probable cases, there was either no building exposure, or the last date the individual(s) were in the building was before a recent school closing/extended weekend/holiday break.  When a building or school is closed for three or more days, the Department of Health guidelines state that the active positive and probable case count resets to zero for their tracking purposes. An example is if our buildings are closed for an extended weekend or holiday break, the Dashboard number of Active Positives and Probables reset to zero because the district was provided the additional time for continued cleaning and disinfecting, thus resetting the case count. In these specific circumstances, cases are added to the Year-to-Date totals and not to the Active columns.

Why don’t we hear about confirmed positive cases right away?

The district sends out a daily notification of positive and/or probable cases every day, unless there are no cases to report for that day. Once we are notified of a possible positive COVID-19 case, the district works with the school administrators, nurses, and faculty/staff to provide the Department of Health with information so the case can be confirmed, and we can begin contact tracing and communicating with any possible exposures regarding both the case and the quarantines required. Our administrators also contact any parents/guardians of students as well as any faculty/staff who may have been exposed to notify them directly before the Department of Health contacts them.

After all of these communications have occurred, we update our Dashboard and email our daily COVID notification to our families with confirmation of new cases since the last update.

Do we automatically close when we reach a certain number of cases?

The PA Department of Health/PA Department of Education offers guidance for school districts that provides a detailed look at the number of COVID cases in the school buildings related to size, and how to address the need for temporary school closure and cleaning. The guidance provides recommendations specific to small school buildings (under 500 students), medium (500-900 students) and large buildings (over 900 students) in regards to the number of cases in the buildings and when to close buildings for thorough cleaning.

  • K-4 buildings (Brecht, Bucher, Neff, Nitrauer, Reidenbaugh, Schaeffer) are considered “small” buildings under these guidelines and the range is 2-4 cases.
  • LRIS, MS, and MTHS are considered “large” buildings under these guidelines and the range is 6-10 cases.

The recommendation is to consider a short-term closure if cases are within the range specific to the school. Staffing shortages can also trigger a short-term closure with a switch to remote learning. We review the data and recommendations many times throughout the day, and remain dedicated to keeping our faculty, staff, families, and students informed of any changes to our normal operations with as much notice as possible.

The PA Department of Health/PA Department of Education guidance includes information on case investigation, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, and provides protocols for what schools should do when a student or staff present symptoms of COVID-19 but are not a confirmed case.  They also note that if case investigations, contact tracing, and cleaning and disinfecting can be accomplished in less time (than specified in the guidance), the length of closure time may be shortened.

Why was a school closed due to a staffing shortage, but the COVID-19 Dashboard shows zero staff quarantined or Active Positive/Probable cases in that school? 

Confirmed positive cases reported on the Dashboard are those that occur with our faculty/staff or student population that have an impact on our schools in terms of exposures to others in school or the need to quarantine others who may have been exposed at school. If a staff member or student is exposed to COVID-19 outside of school and is quarantining as a result, the case is not reported on our Dashboard because it does not have an impact on our school. In addition, individuals who are quarantining due to travel are not listed in the COVID Dashboard.

There may be staff absent due to personal (outside-of-school exposures with no impact on students or staff) or other illness or reasons. We are bound to follow certain social distancing and health and safety guidelines as a requirement of staying open for in-person instruction at this time. If we do not have the staff to ensure these guidelines are followed appropriately, we may need to close the school for one day or more until we are able to hold in-person instruction with the required protocols in place.


January 15, 2021

January 15, 2021

Updated Quarantine Guidelines and Recommendations

The district continues to review the CDC and PADoH guidelines for length of quarantine.  As recommendations continue to change or be revised, our Health Services Department is the best point of contact for our parents to ask questions or receive the most updated information for the various options of quarantine based on each specific circumstance.

  • Full Quarantine: This remains the safest option for individuals to quarantine for 14 days from a non-household exposure.
  • Shortened Quarantine*: If the close contact has no symptoms during quarantine, the individual may leave quarantine after 10 days. He/she should continue to monitor the symptoms and be very careful about wearing a mask and social distancing for the full 14-days.
    • *If the individual has direct contact with a COVID+ household member, and the COVID+ household member cannot self-isolate, then the individual must complete the 10-day quarantine with an additional 10 days after the COVID+ individual is no longer infectious (which is 10 days from symptom onset). This may mean that an individual with household exposure, and cannot self-isolate, may be quarantined up to 24 days.
    • If the individual has direct contact with a COVID+ household member, and the COVID+ household member can self-isolate, then the individual must complete the 10-day quarantine, and no additional quarantine days are needed. The individual must be symptom-free before returning to school. Monitoring for symptoms must continue on days 11-14.
    • If the individual has contact with a COVID+ individual who is not a member of his/her household, the individual must complete a 10-day self-quarantine and remain symptom-free before returning to school. Monitoring for symptoms must continue on days 11-14.

Previous Updates
  • January 15, 2021
  • MTSD New Quarantine Guidelines Effective January 4, 2021
  • Important COVID-related Updates for MTSD Families
  • Information on Governor Wolf’s New Orders
  • UPDATE: K-12 School Schedule Change
  • November 4, 2020
  • Expectations of Notifications Re: Confirmed Positive COVID-19
  • April 27 Update
  • April 10 Update
  • March 31 Update
  • March 27 Update
  • March 25 Update
  • March 24 Update
  • March 20 Update
  • March 16 Update 2
  • March 16 Update
  • March 13 Update
  • March 12 Update
  • March 9 Update
  • February 28 Update
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450A Candlewyck Rd
PO Box 5134
Lancaster PA 17606
717-569-8231
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Awards

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International Baccalaureate World School College Board AP Honor Roll Recipient
Award Image. Text reads Best High Schools, US News & World Report, National 2019 2020 Best Communities for Music Education Award, brought to you by the NAMM Foundation
Newsweek Magazine’s America’s Top 500 High Schools
High School Named Distinguished Title I School for 2018-2019
Named 2019 Best Public High School by Niche
Named 2019 Best Public School District by Niche
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