Hello TSAS Families,

This afternoon, the Ketchikan School Board approved an increase in our Covid Risk Levels.
Beginning tomorrow, our school will be at the Medium Risk level.

For TSAS, school will continue five days a week and begin and end at the same
scheduled times. Due to how we have constructed our school this year, we need to make very
few instructional changes as we move between the Low and Medium levels. This is by design,
as consistency is very important for learning at our students’ ages.

Our plan is robust, strict, and shown effective at preventing the spread of Covid-19. Though the
increase in cases in our community is unfortunate, at this time there is no evidence of
transmission happening within our school. Our plan is also supported by numerous scientific
studies that show evidence of low levels of transmission in elementary schools following similar
safety protocols to ours. Since education is so vitally important, and onsite learning especially
crucial for children at this age level, our onsite learning will continue until our local conditions
make it impossible to do so. Especially for disadvantaged students, the trade-offs for at-home
learning are great and we strive to do all that we can to prevent that from occurring.

I encourage all families to follow the governor’s and State of Alaska’s advice and continue
wearing masks in public, avoid large groups of people, and self-isolate and test if you have been
in contact with someone infected or are showing Covid-like symptoms. Actions such as these
will help improve the conditions in our community and keep students in school.

As a district we are regularly evaluating local conditions and are working closely with Alaska
Public Health, Ketchikan’s EOC, and medical professionals with Peacehealth. I myself am part
of a working group involving these entities as we look at making education decisions that keep
student and staff safety at the front of our concerns. There may come a time when we have no
choice but to begin at-home learning. Fortunately, we are not there yet.

To Your Child’s Success!

Scott Huff

TSAS Principal