In the last district e-newsletter, a ThoughtExchange was launched to find out how we can best communicate COVID-19 related information to our parents, staff and community. A total of 110 participants shared 57 thoughts. A full report of the results can be found by clicking here. 

Many of the thoughts revolved around similar topics. Following is a list of the top five rated thoughts and the district’s response:

• Make the COVID-19 dashboard easier to find on the homepage of the website.

  • While a link to the district’s COVID-19 information page has been in the “Trending Now” box at the top of the homepage, it has been replaced with a direct link to the dashboard. The link is also the first one listed at the top of the “Trending Now” box.

• Update the dashboard more often.

  • Any school that has a confirmed positive or a presumed positive case is notified by email within 24 hours of confirmation. In most cases, parents and staff are notified on the same day that the school receives notice of a positive case. An exception would be if the information comes in during the evening hours. 

  • Because the impacted school is informed of new cases within 24 hours, the district will continue to update its dashboard each Monday by noon.

    • In addition to the weekly chart that lists new cases and quarantines by building, visitors can also see the number of students and staff who have been quarantined or are positive on a monthly and cumulative basis.

    • By clicking on the link under the weekly chart, visitors will be able to view weekly data since the start of the school year.

• Full disclosure of positive cases and those in quarantine.

  • Lakota’s COVID-19 dashboard is based on information given to the district’s 23 schools by parents, employees and the Butler County Health Department. As is always the case, the district depends on parents to be forthcoming about the reason for their students’ absences from school.

  • The district has an extensive system in place that not only tracks symptomatic students, but also positives, presumed positives and quarantined cases, which is used to update the weekly dashboard.

  • The Ohio Department of Health requires school districts to notify parents within a school building of a positive case within 24 hours. Lakota Local Schools goes above and beyond the requirements by sharing information on its dashboard about presumed positive cases and those quarantined, both because of school-related and non-school related positive cases, as well as those who have visited a known “hot spot” or foreign country.

  • Although the district reports every positive case to the Butler County Health Department, the state dashboard actually shows a lower number of positives than the district reports on its dashboard.

• Include links to the dashboard in emails.

  • When the dashboard is mentioned in emailed communication, including newsletters, a link should always be present. 

• Share the active cases of quarantines and positive cases.

  • As mentioned above, the COVID-19 dashboard is updated every Monday with this information.