Anoka-Hennepin Schools COVID-19 Information

Employee FAQ

Distance learning March 30 until June 9 

Governor Walz issued an executive order designed to protect the health and safety of citizens and reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19. As it relates to your role as an Anoka-Hennepin employee, the order extends the school closure and enacts the distance learning model of education through Tuesday, June 9. 

As always, the health and safety of our employees during this time is imperative as our organization continues to provide the essential services expected by the communities.

Employees who are sick with symptoms, have been asked to self-isolate by a county/state/federal agency, are in a high risk category, or caring for someone in their household in a high risk category, should stay home and use appropriate sick leave time.

The district expects its employees to abide by state and federal social distancing guidelines.  

Will employees be able to work from home?

More information is in the all-employee communication sent March 25 and April 27. District employees who are expected to report must follow social distancing guidelines.  

What about substitute employment positions?

Substitute positions are not needed for the duration of distance learning. All prior requests have been canceled for this time period.  

Long-term teacher substitutes will still be expected to report to work. 

What about coaching positions?

The collective bargaining agreement between the district and Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota (AHEM) provides that coaches are paid pro-rata stipends for less than a full season. 

The district will not make any decisions on extracurricular stipends until a final decision is made by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) regarding activities for the remainder of the school year. The district does understand and will take into consideration the fact that many coaches spent time preparing for activities prior to the start of the season. Following a final determination from the MSHSL, the district will reach out regarding compensation decisions.

What about child care for employees needing it?

The district is collecting requests from emergency workers for child care support for elementary school-age children.

The program is now available to Anoka-Hennepin Schools staff currently working on site that are unable to perform job duties with their children. Families who apply, can begin utilizing District Emergency Care by Wednesday, Apr. 1.

Employees who are required to work on site and have children younger than elementary school age or have special circumstances, and don’t have child care, please contact your supervisor.   

As an employee, what if I feel like I’m sick with COVID-19?

Employees are asked to report their symptoms to their health care provider and follow those professional’s instructions and the guidelines in place from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Please then share any pertinent information with your supervisor, as with any other absence, and use your allocated sick time as needed.

Masks as a source of infection control now allowed as an option in schools

Anoka-Hennepin staff and students will be allowed the option of wearing non medical grade or homemade masks on school property during the distance learning period. While science has not supported a protective value through wearing surgical or cloth masks, the district also respects actions taken by employees and students to ensure the safety of others. 

Employees are expected to continue to follow recommendations of social distancing, hand washing, and staying home when ill. You should wash your hands before and after touching your mask. When the mask becomes wet it should be replaced. The wet mask should be placed in a sealed plastic bag and go home with the student or staff for washing before reuse. 

Guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remains unchanged and does not recommend medical grade masks for anyone other than those who are ill. The district will not be providing masks for people other than those that become ill at work or school. Please contact the site health service staff if you have questions about masks.

I am a district employee. My doctor or county/state/federal agency has told me to  self-isolate or self-quarantine. What should I do?

Employees who are directed to self-isolate by a county/state/federal agency following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directions, should stay home and use appropriate sick leave time.

Employees should report absences as they currently do, and work directly with the Employee Services department if additional information is needed related to such items as ways to request extended leaves, including leaves under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, FFRCA. Please see the Department of Labor’s notification poster.

Employees who are defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as at-risk, are caring for a person at-risk in their household, or have been directly exposed to COVID-19, may contact their supervisor and be approved for work-from-home assuming your work can be performed remotely. Please know that you may need to provide medical documentation. If you’re contacted by public health authorities and advised to self-isolate, please advise your supervisor immediately.

As with any employee absence, you should report time off as you normally do. Specifically, this time off would fall under the “sick leave” category. Absences of more than 10 consecutive work days require medical documentation as a medical leave of absence.

If an employee’s sick leave allocation (or vacation leave allocation, if eligible) is depleted, but isolation needs to continue, the employee should review any applicable working agreement language (e.g. leave, sick leave bank), which can be accessed via the district website. In the event that all sick and vacation time is used, the employee would need to take time off unpaid.  Without legislative intervention, the district cannot pay individual employees who do not have sick leave available to them. 

I came into contact with a person who is confirmed with COVID-19. What should I do?

Please follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines if you have symptoms.