This evening, Chief Operations Officer Jorge Robles presented an update on our COVID-19 health data to the Tulsa Board of Education. The update included a review of the key data that the district uses to assess health and safety conditions in the district and surrounding areas.

OUR PROCESS

• We have three categories of metrics that we monitor on a weekly basis: early warning indicators, foundational school system metrics, and foundational health care metrics.
• Each week we actively monitor this information through our Health Data working group.
• If one of these metrics hits a threshold, or if we detect an early warning from one of our indicators, it triggers an evaluation and discussion with our Health Data working group.
• Based on the group’s assessment, we would take one of four types of potential actions:
  1. No changes necessary at this time.   
  2. Additional monitoring of all data points coupled with increased, targeted rapid COVID testing.
  3. Shift from in-person to full distance learning at a specific classroom, school, or multiple schools.
  4. Change the default mode of instruction for some or all grade levels through a formal recommendation to the Board of Education.

Some of the key insight’s from tonight’s data review include:

Early Warning Indicators

• Case counts for students/staff percentages went down last week as expected.
• Larger volume of overall positive cases in the last week, mainly for staff. 
• Rapid testing started last week and plan to have data available at the board work session. 

Foundational System Metrics

• Meaningful number of vacancies across Plant Operations, Transportation and Child Nutrition. Actively recruiting across all three teams and putting in place contingency plans, but not having students in schools has allowed us to maintain current services. 
• Health care staff continues to experience vacancies. Working out options to continue to provide coverage.
• Monitoring a larger number of school-based employee absences (not related to COVID) along with COVID-related leave.

Foundational Health Care Metrics

• Trend continues to fluctuate at same high level over last 7-10 days; we have yet to see impact of Thanksgiving break and thus hard to know the magnitude of the impact yet.

Click here to view the full Dec. 7 health data briefing.