Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Families,
We’ve had several students and staff test positive for COVID-19, and several who are presumed positive, over the last few days. Since our last exposure message to all families last week, we’ve had 22 additional student cases reported, as well as 9 staff cases. All students and staff were instructed to move into isolation and remain there until symptoms have gone away.
We strongly encourage you to please take a look at our COVID Positive Tracking List for the most up-to-date list of both student and staff cases.
Due to the large number of cases, we are unable to provide individual class schedules for Secondary students. We are asking all families to please monitor their students for symptoms and to take their students to get tested if needed.
OUTBREAKS AND QUARANTINES
As we continue to track all of the cases, we have been able to determine that we currently have an active outbreak in our eighth grade with 14 active cases and nine of them being connected to one another. An outbreak is deemed if we have five connected cases.
Next steps are:
- Eighth-grade students who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic can remain at school and should wear a mask until the outbreak is resolved.
- Unvaccinated students will need to quarantine for five days from today and can return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022 if they are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 at that time and should wear a mask until the outbreak is resolved.
- Any student who is showing or develops signs of illness should stay home and seek testing.
Additional grades with connected cases that we are currently monitoring:
- 2nd – 3 cases, 2 connected cases
- 3rd – 8 cases, 3 connected cases
- 4th – 4 cases, 3 connected cases
- 5th – 5 cases, 2 connected cases
- 6th – 6 cases, 2 connected cases
- 8th – 14 cases, 9 connected cases
- 9th – 4 cases, 2 connected cases
- 10th – 7 cases, 2 connected cases
- 11th – 6 cases, 2 connected cases
- 12th – 4 cases, 4 connected cases
We would like to strongly encourage students and staff to wear masks to help limit the spread and reduce the continued outbreak to lessen the impact.
TSA EXPOSURE
We were notified that an eighth-grade student in the TSA Club has tested positive for COVID-19. The student was present at the club meeting on Tuesday, January 4th. The student was instructed to move into isolation and not to return to school until symptoms have gone away.
Per Jogan Health (the contracted health agency that the Douglas County Health Department has selected), after school activities are considered “high risk” and parents should take the following precautions:
- If your student is completely vaccinated (see chart below for clarification), your student can continue to attend in-person learning and continue to participate in club meetings, however we do ask that you please monitor them for symptoms and that they wear a mask for the next 10 days.
- If your student is unvaccinated, they may still attend school and are not required to quarantine as we are out of the required quarantine window. However, your student must wear a mask for the remainder of the week (see chart below for clarification).
NOTIFYING STEM OF COVID-19 POSITIVE CASE
If your student tests positive for COVID-19, please contact our School Nurse, Mallory Jimenez (nurse@stemk12.org) immediately. She will then notify the appropriate STEM Leadership Team members to then initiate our communication process. Ms. Jimenez will then provide instructions on the next steps.
Please reach out to communications@stemk12.org with any questions.
Thank you,
STEM School Highlands Ranch Communications
