Thursday, January 6, 2022

This message is a bit long today but it has a lot of important information.

This message includes:

  • Friday Weather
  • School District Budget
  • January School Calendar
  • COVID Update

  -Overall Cases

  -New CDC Guidance

  -Reporting Positive Cases

  -Home Tests  

  -Contact Tracing

*Going Remote

Friday Weather

While many people have snow fever, it looks like tomorrow’s predicted snow is expected to bring about 2-4 inches. At this time, I’m planning to have school. It’s all based on the timing of the snow. It could be regular school, a delay or a remote day. Be prepared for anything. A message will be sent out via email and text in the morning if anything is to happen.

School District Budget

The school district has been working through the budget process for the last several months. Last night was the final presentation to the budget committee, where a motion was made to cut $668,988 from the district budget. The motion ultimately failed, as several committee members wanted time to review the proposed cuts.

On Thursday, January 13, the Budget Committee will hold a Public Hearing for the school and town budgets at the Hudson Community Center at 7pm. The public hearing is an opportunity for the public to provide the budget committee feedback on the budget, for the budget committee to vote again on the school district warrant articles and to review any petitioned warrant articles submitted by Hudson residents.

Find more budget information here.

January School Calendar

Friday, January 14 is an early-release day for students. The entire district staff will participate in mandatory suicide prevention training in the afternoon.

There is no school on Monday, January 17 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

COVID Update

Overall Cases

There was a significant increase in cases in Hudson this week – the Town of Hudson number reported late Wednesday was 262. On Tuesday it was 183. We have received reports of 140 positive cases this week within the district as of last night. Note that these are following the holidays and few are directly related to schools.

Our goal is to keep students in school. The feedback from parents over the last two years is the preference for in-person learning. We will do everything we can to slow the spread of COVID in our schools. NH is experiencing the same impact of Omicron that has been seen around the country. Reports are that the Omicron variant is milder for fully vaccinated people.

New CDC Guidance

The NH Department of Public Health announced yesterday that they WILL adopt the new CDC guidance for testing and quarantine purposes. This guidance should come out in the next day or two. We will share updated protocols early next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday.

Reporting Positive Cases

If a staff member or student tests positive, even with a home test, please let your school know by filling out this quick form. Notifying us allows us to identify areas of spread.

Home Tests

The school district accepts home COVID test results. 

The two major tests right now are BinaxNow and QuickVue. BinaxNow is one test, the QuickVue requires two tests before students and staff can return to school. (For perspective, PCR turn around times are four to five days in many places.)

To report a negative result, families should send a photo that includes: a piece of paper with the student’s name and date of test, the test box and the negative test.

Contact Tracing

We are adjusting our process for contact tracing. Throughout the pandemic, our nurses and leadership team have conducted detailed contact tracing. Most schools in NH stopped contact tracing this school year and we made the decision to continue.

At the elementary level, staff, students and families will continue to be notified of cases in the building. Notification will also be sent when there is a COVID positive person in individual classrooms. We will not track every movement of an individual over 48 hours, as we have up until now.

At the middle and high school level, staff, students and families will be notified of cases in the building. Staff will be notified of positives in their classrooms. Contact tracing will be limited to certain instances, such a sports team.

In all cases, individuals are highly encouraged to notify people they may have been in close contact with.

Going Remote

As mentioned earlier, we’re going to do everything we can to keep students in school. The reality is that we might not be able to safely keep a building open. If we have to close a school, the other schools will continue with in-person learning. We will provide as much notice as possible. Please have a back-up plan.

We’re going to have a challenging few weeks. Thanks in advance for your support and your patience.

Larry Russell
Superintendent of Schools

Important Dates

January 13 – Budget Committee Hearing

January 14 – Early Release for Students

January 17 – No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 24 – School Board Meeting

Early Release Times – January 14, 2022

Elementary Schools – Dismissal 12:30pm

Hudson Memorial School – Dismissal 11:45am

Alvirne High School – Mid-year testing schedule - students dismissal 10:45am