COLORADO, USA — An elementary school teacher in the Sheridan School District and a teacher from Mapleton Public Schools have both tested positive for COVID-19, the school districts confirmed.
The Sheridan teacher is now at home on self-quarantine, according to Mark Stevens, a spokesperson for the district. She was asymptomatic but got tested to be safe before the start of school.
She was inside a school building last week for one day, according to Stevens, who said one other staff member who worked with the teacher is also in a voluntary quarantine.
Stevens said there is no change to the district’s reopening plans.
The district plans to offer in-person instruction in school classrooms to half of the students in grades six through 12 at one time. When at school, they will receive instruction in core classes such as English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.
At the high school level, students in ninth and 10th grades will attend school in the morning and students in 11th and 12th grades will attend in the afternoon.
All electives and non-core classes would be taken at home via online learning, resulting in a full academic day.
The Mapleton teacher late Sunday evening reported that she received a positive result on her COVID test, said Melissa Johnson, a spokesperson for the district.
That teacher works at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts (MESA) in Thornton.
"Out of an abundance of caution, all MESA staff were asked to work from home on Monday, Aug. 10, while we coordinated an evaluation of the situation with Tri-County Health," Johnson said. "Tri-County Health cleared all teachers to return to the building, Tuesday, Aug. 11, except for the COVID positive staff member and six other staff members identified as individuals who were within the 6-foot guideline and therefore more at risk of being exposed. The teacher and six staff members will follow quarantine procedures."
Johnson said teachers returned to school buildings on Aug. 6, three weeks prior to students' return on Aug. 27.
"School buildings are being modified and multiple layers of protection are being implemented to assure proper air filtration, to allow for appropriate social distancing and reduced group/cohort size and to minimize the risk of spreading germs," Johnson said.
In early June, the Mapleton Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to reopen on Aug. 27, with in-person, five-days-a-week instruction.
They'll also offer students the option to enroll in Mapleton Online, a new K-12 online school that will focus on standards-based, project-based, and individualized learning.
Several metro-area districts including the Denver Public School District and Aurora Public Schools have announced plans for remote learning through the first semester.
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