Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Families,
We are excited to share that STEM School Highlands Ranch is officially enrolled in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) free, voluntary, and statewide COVID-19 school testing program for the 2021-22 school year. We believe this is a critical step to keeping our students and teachers healthy and allowing us to continue in-person learning. The safety of our students and educators is our top priority. This program is for students in grades K-12.
We want to be clear that this voluntary testing program at STEM will help in identifying asymptomatic students who are COVID positive so that they can move into quarantine. Students who have COVID symptoms should not come to STEM to get tested. Rather, they should remain at home and get tested on their own if needed.
All students under 18 must obtain parental/guardian consent to participate in this voluntary program. Through Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Reopening Schools award funds, students are eligible to receive an incentive, regardless of their current vaccination status. A participating student will receive $25 for the first COVID-19 test that is administered to them through this program. A student can then receive $10 for every subsequent test that is administered each week (at a maximum of one incentive allowed per week).
To enroll your child, please visit the portal via this link. This is a live link so if families change their minds, they can return to the link to opt-out, or opt-in.
The COVID-19 testing program is available to all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status. School testing will be implemented with the help of a state contractor.
Additional Resources:
When will testing take place?
Testing will take place on Tuesdays beginning at 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. The first day of testing of students will be on Tuesday, Oct. 26. Students who have a completed consent form will be allowed to leave class to get their test done. Students will return to class after completion of the test. Results will be uploaded to the Portal when done and will be sent to parents.
What happens if a student tests positive during the school day?
Our school nurse will be notified of any positive tests. We will pull the student from class and inform parents that they must come to pick up their student. We will then send “exposure” letters to our families of any students who are identified as being exposed.
For additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our school nurse Mallory Jimenez at nurse@stemk12.org.
Thank you for helping keep our kids and teachers safe.
Sincerely,
STEM School Highlands Ranch Communications