Kent ISD COVID-19 - School & Regional Student Programs Dashboards - Frequently Asked Questions

The Kent ISD COVID-19 - School & Regional Student Programs Dashboards provide parents, educators and the general public transparency on school-associated COVID-19 cases for our public, nonpublic and regional student programs.

Data on the Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards is provided through a partnership with the Kent County Health Department. Kent ISD is not responsible for the collection of COVID-19 numbers regionwide. Kent ISD’s primary role is to host, maintain and update the Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards.

The Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards are updated on a daily basis (Monday - Friday). To note, school-associated COVID-19 cases are identified through an investigation conducted by the Kent County Health Department. Pending this investigation, there may be some lag in reported cases.

Dates on the Kent ISD COVID-19 School Dashboard refer to when the Kent County Health Department receives notice of a case. To adjust date ranges, please refer to the "Time Period" menu item to the right of the bar charts.

The Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards report daily and cumulative school-associated “probable” and “confirmed” COVID-19 staff and student cases. According to the Center for Disease Control, a “confirmed” case resulted from a positive COVID-19 laboratory test. A “probable” case is someone exposed to COVID-19 and exhibiting symptoms.

In order to comply with the public reporting requirements of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Emergency Order from October 2020, data reported on or after October 12, 2020 include both “probable” and “confirmed” COVID-19 cases. Prior numbers include only “confirmed” cases, as the Kent County Health Department was not tracking “probable” school-associated cases previously.

The Kent ISD COVID-19 - School Dashboard also allows users to drill down results by educational setting. Educational settings refer to the instructional model – onsite (in-person), virtual or hybrid – for each case. To note, setting offerings vary by school district.

A “school-associated case” is defined by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Emergency Order from October 2020:

“School Associated Case” means a case of probable or confirmed COVID-19 amongst students, teachers, staff members, coaches, volunteers, or any other person who was present on school property or at a school function under circumstances that may result in the transmission or contraction of COVID-19 during their infectious period. 

All public and nonpublic schools and districts located within Kent ISD’s geographic boundaries are included on the Kent ISD COVID-19 - School Dashboard. 

Regional Kent ISD student program data (e.g. Kent Career Tech Center, Great Start Readiness Program, Kent Innovation High, etc.) is listed separately on the Kent ISD COVID-19 - Regional Student Programs Dashboard.

The Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards only list entities that have had at least one COVID-19 case since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

The map lists cumulative school-associated COVID-19 cases by building or location since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. The bar charts list COVID-19 cases by date.

In September 2020, the state of Michigan began reporting school-related “outbreaks” for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. An outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff with onsets within a 14-day period, who are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact tracing.

The Kent ISD COVID-19 Dashboards currently report daily and cumulative “probable” and “confirmed” COVID-19 cases.

For further information on COVID-19 case numbers in Kent County, please visit the Kent County COVID-19 Dashboard. To view statewide data, please refer to Michigan’s Coronavirus webpage.

Informational resources on how to prevent spread of the coronavirus in school and daycare settings are also available through the Kent County Health Department.