September 3: COVID-19 Protocols Update

We want to thank you for your support and partnership as we enjoy a strong start to the 2021-2022 academic year. This year began with great enthusiasm from our faculty and staff and an excitement to welcome back families for on-campus events and see the campus alive with student activity. There is no doubt that even in the face of a difficult pandemic our community has the strength and values to grow and thrive together.

In the opening weeks of the year, we experienced an active case count and COVID-19 positivity rates that were unsustainable. The decision was made to move from a mask optional policy to masking while indoors on campus for a period of time. It appears as though that policy adjustment combined with a natural decline in the surge of cases had the intended effect to reset our campus positivity rate. In case you have not already done so, we recommend visiting our COVID-19 page and referencing the active case chart for insight into the spread of the virus in our community.

The positivity rate we experienced was much higher than surrounding schools. This holds true for institutions with mandatory masking policies as well as those that are mask optional. For example, schools requiring masks including St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, the John Cooper School, and St. John XXIII averaged below a 2% positivity rate during the opening weeks of school. In our immediate area, Klein ISD holds a positivity rate of less than 1% and Conroe ISD, the district with one of the highest positivity rates in the greater Houston area, maintained an average positivity rate of no more than 2.1%, all while remaining mask optional. For reference, at Frassati Catholic our positivity rate averaged 5.2% from the first day of classes through today.

A positivity rate like the one we experienced is clearly unsustainable. At peak positivity earlier this week, we were within one active case of meeting our 10% threshold for instituting a campus shutdown.

On Wednesday we sent a pair of surveys to the community. One to our employees and one to our families, asking each group about their preferences for mask wearing. These surveys were not meant to drive decision making, but were rather an opportunity to understand the landscape of perspectives in our community. In our parent community, 40.9% were in favor of masking while indoors on campus, 32.9% would prefer to be mask optional but support the decision to wear masks when conditions indicate it is prudent, and 26.2% do not think masks should be worn indoors. In our employee community, 20% favored wearing masks indoors, 66.7% prefered mask optional but support the decision to mask when conditions indicate it is prudent, and 13.3% do not think masks should be worn indoors. Both survey snapshots are shown below for your reference.

Parent Masking Survey

Employee Masking Survey

The Administrative Team, with the support of the Board of Trustees, has used data including what we experienced on our campus, information from surrounding private schools and ISDs, advice from health professionals, and the Harris County Department of Health. This information allowed us to come to a decision on the next steps of our COVID-19 policy at Frassati Catholic. To provide context, we have established some guiding principles for these decisions:

• masks are a legitimate mitigation tool
• our end goal is, of course, to be without masks
• we are not willing to return to a position where a campus outbreak could threaten campus closure
• while our students are not necessarily of an age that is considered high risk, they remain integral members of communities where risks can be greater
• Frassati Catholic exists to assist our community on the path to beatitude, and that mission is and will continue to be fulfilled regardless of our masking policy

So considering the above, we will extend our mandatory masking policy through Friday, September 17. After that time, we will observe conditions with the possibility of returning to a mask optional policy barring we meet some very specific criteria outlined below:

• we must average 2% or below in active case counts (max 6 active cases) over a 7-day period (calculated Thursday-Wednesday, with the first period of review between September 9-15), and
• the trend in daily cases must be flat or in a downward trend at the end of that 7-day period
• once those criteria have been met, we can again return to mask optional while indoors
• then, once we are mask optional , if the 7-day average rises again to 4% (12 active cases), and/or
• there is an upward trend in daily active cases that indicate another wave, we will resume masking while indoors.

We believe that the above guidelines provide us a target to work toward as a community to remain healthy. The first opportunity to return to a mask optional policy would be Monday, September 20, following the 7-day evaluation period of September 9-15.

One of the biggest challenges during the past weeks was the number of individuals who came to school even while experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The most common symptoms we observed that later developed into positive cases were: congestion, runny nose, headache, fever, scratchy throat, body aches, fatigue, and persistent cough. Of the 39 individuals who became COVID positive following the start of school who also spent time on campus during their infectious period, 18 attended school while experiencing one or more of the above symptoms. By renewing our vigilance on the individual level and staying home when ill, we believe that we can reduce our active case counts.

As always, we value the ongoing dialogue with the community and understand that not everyone will share the same vision for how this situation should be handled. Our optimism for the success of this year remains undeterred by the ongoing nature of this pandemic, and we believe that the strength of our people and our community, the common values we share, and the faith in God's divine grace will continue to bless and guide Frassati Catholic High School.