Courtesy of the Curry County Office of Emergency Management

Though Curry County has 39 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, Brookings-Harbor School District will move forward with its plan to bring seventh- and 10th-graders back into the classroom starting Dec. 3.

Meanwhile, following two positive cases identified at Kalmiopsis Elementary School last week, nine staff members have had to quarantine, according to a district press release Tuesday:

The data released by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) on Monday show 30 active cases over the last two weeks in Curry County and a test positivity rate of 4.3%. Thirty active cases are one more than the “green zone” -- putting us in the “yellow zone” for that metric, and 4.3% test positivity is in the “green zone.” This means that at this time, we are on track to bring back 7th and 10th graders on Thursday, Dec. 3, as planned.

 

It is concerning that the case numbers are trending upwards and the District is in regular communication with the Curry County Public Health Department.  Presently, we are well within ODE’s and OHA’s range to continue in-person instruction.

 

As we shared on Friday (Nov. 20), we were informed that we had a positive case at Kalmiopsis.  Over the weekend, we were informed that we had another positive case at Kalmiopsis.  The two cases seem to be unrelated. These two cases, in addition to one that was reported in September, bring the total in our district this fall to three cases. To date, we have no indication of spread within any of our schools.

 

As a result of the most recent exposure, we have nine Kalmiopsis staff members who have been asked to quarantine as a precautionary measure in accordance with ODE and OHA guidelines. None of the staff members are symptomatic at this time. With nine staff members unable to be on-site, we are unable to offer a number of in-person supports and services and we have diminished capacity to thoroughly sanitize between morning and afternoon classes at the elementary. In addition, there are no substitutes available to provide additional support. 

 

As a result, we will shift Kalmiopsis to Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) for the week of November 30-December 4. This means that there will be no in-person classes for the week, but students will have online lessons and activities assigned by their teacher to complete at home.  Again, this temporary shift is because of a lack of staffing capacity. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your flexibility as we work to maintain the high safety and sanitation standards we have set.

 

As a reminder, all of our students and staff wear masks or facial coverings; and practice physical distancing with at least 35 square feet per person in classrooms and offices. In addition, only half of the students are on campus at any given time, and our facilities are frequently sanitized.

 

We plan to resume in-person hybrid instruction for Kindergarten through fifth grade (K-5) on Monday, Dec. 7. Grades 6 and 9 are not impacted by this temporary pause of in-person instruction triggered by staffing levels at the elementary.

 

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