Media Contact: Jennifer Flores, Senior Public Relations Manager
P: 210-551-9253
E: Jennifer.Flores2@ideapublicschools.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IDEA Public Schools Bolster COVID-19 Mitigation Protocols with New Campus-based Health and Safety Monitor Role
IDEA will use ESSER funds to hire a Health and Safety Monitor at every IDEA campus in Texas.
Texas (September 28, 2021) – IDEA Public Schools is excited to announce the addition of a Health and Safety Monitor at each IDEA campus in Texas to support each school’s COVID-19 mitigation, testing and contact tracing efforts.
The IDEA Public Schools Board of Directors authorized the use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to expand investment in campus health and safety through the hiring of one Health and Safety Monitor at every Texas campus for the 2021-22 school year.
The Health and Safety Monitor will provide critical on-site support and monitoring at each campus with a focus on giving COVID-19 mitigation efforts a major boost. Specifically, they will conduct contact tracing when there is a positive COVID-19 case, communicate with families of impacted students and share quarantine recommendations and learning options. They will also support COVID-19 testing of symptomatic students and staff on campus, supervise the containment room as needed and perform other related health and safety supports and audits.
“We believe this investment will continue to help mitigate the spread of the virus, alleviate the strain that campuses have felt with the additional contact tracing needed, and improve student outcomes,” says Layne Fisher, Vice President of Auxiliary Services for IDEA Public Schools.
IDEA Public Schools will continue its COVID-19 Testing Program for the 2021-22 school year for all campuses in Texas and Louisiana to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Since the TDEM/TEA testing program’s launch in November 2020, IDEA has administered over 23,000 tests to students and staff. Weekly COVID-19 reporting can be found on IDEA’s website.
For more information on IDEA Public Schools please visit www.ideapublicschools.org. To find current IDEA job openings, including available health and safety positions, visit https://ideapublicschools.org/careers.
###
About IDEA Public Schools
IDEA Public Schools believes that each and every child can go to college. Since 2000, IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school with 150 students to the fastest-growing network of tuition-free, Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States. Currently, the network serves 75,000 college-bound students in 137 schools across Texas, Louisiana and Florida. IDEA has been recognized as a “Great Place to Work” and received national rankings on The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report’s Top High Schools lists. IDEA remains on-track to uphold its legacy of sending 100% of its graduates to college.
