February 22, 2021
Dear Parents, On February 12 we wrote to you about the latest development in our school's COVID-19 safety planning, a Bluetooth-based contact tracing system that would assist us in identifying close contacts when a community member tests positive for COVID-19. (February 12 email) This project, led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health, has included input from Loomis Chaffee students enrolled in Scott MacClintic's classes Introduction to Manufacturing, Problem-Solving, and Entrepreneurship and Problem-Solving for the Common Good. Loomis will begin piloting this project in the next few weeks. Many of you watched the webinar that we hosted on Tuesday, February 16, which featured the researchers from Yale, including the dean of the Yale School of Public Health, Dr. Sten Vermund. We encourage you to watch it if you have not already done so. The researchers provided a comprehensive overview of the technology and the parameters of the pilot program, and audience members posed excellent questions. You will find the webinar link here and on the Parent Portal. A set of FAQs is also available, and if you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to either of us. The next stage in the project is to finalize permissions. Please review the Parental Permission for Participation in a Research Study from Yale University and the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). You do not need to sign the form; parental permission for your child to participate in the pilot program is assumed unless you choose to opt your child out of the program. To opt out, please email Mary at mary_liscinsky@loomis.org. If you have already opted out, you do not need do so again. Once this stage of the process is done, we will ask your child to assent to the process. If you opt your child out of the program, your child will not be allowed to participate even if they assent. This new contact tracing technology will not replace traditional contact tracing. Rather we hope the pilot program will show that the technology will improve the accuracy of contact tracing. Better contact tracing will make us more effective in identifying those who have had close contact with a COVID-19 positive person and need to quarantine as well as increasing the likelihood that we will not quarantine someone unnecessarily. Our goal is to keep the community healthy and together throughout the spring terms! Thank you for all you do for the Loomis community and for partnering with us during this difficult time.
Brighter days are ahead,
Mary Liscinsky
Scott MacClintic Director of Innovation
The Loomis Chaffee School • 4 Batchelder Road • Windsor, CT 06095 • 860.687.6000
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