March 12, 2021

Decorah Community School District is committed to providing transparent, accurate data regarding cases of isolation and/or quarantining related to COVID-19 while maintaining the confidentiality of students and staff. On September 18, the Iowa Department of Public Health and Iowa Department of Education released guidance to school districts and local public health agencies detailing communication of COVID-19 related data.

The Iowa Department of Public Health guidance can be found here.

Summary Positive COVID-19 

• Of approximately 290 Staff – Thirty-one (31) positive COVID-19, Thirty-one (31) recovered
• Of approximately 1575 On-site students – One hundred-five (105) positive COVID-19, One hundred-one (101) recovered

County and District Trend Data

The graphs below reflect county and district data taken each Tuesday and Thursday since school began.

In his weekly message to families, Superintendent Mark Lane shared, “It is wonderful to write to you today knowing almost 300 Decorah Schools, St. Ben’s School, and Crossroads Academy staff and substitutes are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. I want to express my thanks to Winneshiek County Public Health and our school nurses Julie Goedken and Selina Quandahl for their efforts to organize and carry out our vaccination plan. I am also grateful to Steve Haluska and Mary Beth Specht for their collaboration in giving this opportunity to employees and subs at St. Ben’s and Crossroads.”

“One year ago, we left school as if it was a typical Friday afternoon. Student belongings were left in lockers and desks, and staff went home expecting to see students and each other again Monday morning. Ultimately, we never returned to in-person school for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.”

Lane continued, “I intend to spend this weekend reflecting on all that we have done in the past year. I will think about the thousands of meals we handed out, and how Decorah Bank and Trust and Decorah Rotary donated funds to ensure we could begin handing out meals the very first week of closure. I will think about our 2020 commencement and how our community lined Water Street to recognize our seniors who had lost out on too many important events. I will think about our first baseball and softball games and the way our players, coaches, umpires, bus drivers, and fans quickly adapted to new routines so our student-athletes could play ball. I will think about the dozens of hours our teachers and principals dedicated to creating a Return to Learn plan, and how people demonstrated agility and resilience when those plans changed. Finally, I will think about how we entered this school year facing the unknown, and how our students, staff, parents, and community have demonstrated patience, agility, grace, humility, caring, and perseverance to get to where we are today.”