By Wendi Reardon Price
Special To The Leader
We knew when we decided it was time for Jonathan, our five-year-old son, to go to school it was going to be a different kind of year, not only from what we experienced but just different because of COVID.
When I checked my voicemail on Wednesday night after putting Jonathan and his younger brother to bed – I was both surprised but not surprised.
Ann Robb, Director of Early Childhood Programs for Oxford Community Schools, left in the message Jonathan was exposed to a positive case of COVID on Monday, Feb. 22, and the Cleark Lake Elementary classroom needed to be closed.
She added an email would be coming the following day with more information and a return date.
I was also relieved and calm but also so many questions were forming in my head. It’s as if anything I had heard about COVID both disappeared and all came together in one place – like at first it was 14 days quarantine but didn’t it change to 10-14 days? Who was quarantined? Had Jonathan been around anyone outside school or outside of the house since Monday? I tried to stop the questions by telling myself an email was coming.
Robb had also sent an email in the late afternoon the same day to let parents and guardians know of a situation in the classroom. A staff member gave permission for Robb to share the staff member was in recent close contact with a positive COVID case and was last in school Feb.22.

I appreciate the openness and keeping us updated. I knew the staff member was absent Tuesday and Wednesday, Jonathan had said they were sick when we were leaving. For him to say something, I knew he missed them. He enjoys his class.
So Thursday came, and to be honest, I was checking my email every 15-30 minutes at least.
An email came from Jill Lemond, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, it was pretty standard – “your child may have been exposed to COVID-19.” Information about COVID, okay pretty standard information – spreads through the air through coughing, sneezing and talking. Through close contact, check, knew that – some information was beginning to come out of the blur.
Then, watch for symptoms, when the illness could occur within 2-14 days after exposure, testing locations.
Most importantly, going back to the mix of how many days quarantine, Jonathan is quarantined through March 8.
I skimmed the email again, okay, Jonathan was quarantined, so was the rest of the family. The bottom of the email said “if you have any questions, please feel free to call Ann Robb.” Yes, definitely.
I did. I left a message just to confirm a few things like who was quarantined.
Of course an email from Robb followed within a few minutes, forwarding the email from Lemond.
But Robb did call me back to see if the emails addressed questions. I answered, “yes” and added so the whole household is quarantined.
She said, “no.” Jonathan was quarantined because he was around the staff member who tested positive. We had not been. But, the moment Jonathan shows symptoms everyone in the house goes into quarantine.
I was still a little confused but really the employees of the district know more than I do. I see different information on different websites and also hear things from different people.
I was more at ease when I worked at an event on Thursday night, masked up and at least ten feet away from people. The principal of the high school I was at (in a different district) asked how I was doing. I responded with just navigating through the COVID world.
Then, I asked him about a student being quarantined but not the household.
“Oh, you are talking about elementary,” he responded, adding “yes.”
Now, just watching Jonathan, so far not even a sneeze or a cough as we head into March 1 and crossing fingers for a good week for not only Jonathan but all of his classmates as well.
I thank the district for their communication, not just this week but the Friday COVID updates. It’s not an easy year for anyone. But, if you share a different opinion, please email it to shermanpub@aol.com.
Wendi Reardon is writer for Sherman Publications, Inc. She is a mother of two boys, five-years-old and two-years-old. She grew up in Oxford and graduated from Oxford High School in 1998.