Lake County High School to remain in “Red” online for week of Oct. 5th

Dear LCHS Parent and Families,

Thank you for your support, patience, understanding, and flexibility as the high school school worked through our first positive COVID-19 cases last week.  We knew that in all likelihood that we would need to move to “Red”. We are confident that our students are receiving quality instruction this week while they are not in the building.

Because we have a number of our staff and students quarantined into next week, we will continue to be in “red” until the week of October 12th.  We will aim to resume in person, hybrid learning with A day students on that Monday (October 12th).  We want to be clear, this is only true for Lake County HS.  Cloud City HS will continue as they have been in their hybrid model as the cases did not directly have contact at CCHS.  Until then, we will continue with our online instruction every morning.  Students have done a great job this week of logging in and being productive online learners.  Let’s keep that up next week.  Please have them connect to their crew teachers with issues and make sure that they are keeping up with their work by checking Google classroom and SchoolRunner.  

As we learn how to best support learners during this online phase, we have heard that some students are still having challenges with connectivity or are simply really struggling to keep up with the work at home.  If this is the case for your student, please connect with your crew teacher.  We will be able to have some students in the building using LCHS internet and working in a structured environment.  LCHS administration will connect with families directly as crew teachers let us know students need this level of support.  

Quarantine Process Explained

We have had some questions, so we wanted to give a bit more explanation and context as to how the whole process of quarantine and closure works.  As soon as we hear about a positive or probable case, we work with Public Health and begin to Contact Trace. This may lead to school closing if enough staff or students need to quarantine.  In those cases, we will not reopen until we are approved to be open by Public Health and have enough staff free from quarantine to effectively run school in person.  

Given the events of last week, we felt it important to clarify the cohorts we have created (or not created) at LCHS so that in the future you have an understanding of who is impacted by a COVID case and why.  There are several cohorts in the high school:  7th grade (A/B), 8th grade (A/B), and 9th-12th grade (A/B).  

7th Grade Cohort Exposure: 

In the 7th grade, students stay in the same class with the same students all day. If a student tests positive for COVID-19 the following would happen: 

• Students in close contact with the confirmed case would quarantine for 14 days from the time of exposure
• Families of students who need to quarantine will be called and receive written notification 
• All 7th grade teachers quarantine
• All other 7th grade students work from home but do not quarantine

8th Grade Cohort Exposure: 

In the 8th grade, students stay in the same class with the same students all day. If a student tests positive for COVID-19 the following would happen: 

• Students in close contact with the confirmed case would quarantine for 14 days from the time of exposure
• Families of students who need to quarantine will be called and receive written notification 
• All 8th grade teachers quarantine
• All other 8th grade students work from home but do not quarantine

9th-12th Grade Cohort Exposure: 

Students in the HS are cohorted into their A and B days. Within each day they have a more traditional HS schedule and typically interact with 50-60 other students or less.  We wanted students to select classes based on their Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP). We also wanted students to stay on track to earn credits towards graduation and to take the classes that make school fun for them. 

This does mean more students in these grades may need to quarantine. If a student tests positive for COVID-19 the following would happen: 

• Students in close contact with the confirmed case would quarantine for 14 days from the time of exposure
• Families of students who need to quarantine will be called and receive written notification 
• All of this student’s teachers quarantine
• All other High School students may or may not work from home but do not quarantine
• If we do have too many staff in quarantine we move to “Red”
• If we do not have too many staff in quarantine we stay in “Yellow”

Safety Measures and Protocols:

Also, we want to reiterate how proud we are of our entire school community for adhering to our safety norms and protocols while in the building!  We have put into place many layers of protection so that when we have a positive case, its spread is minimized. We will continue to do the following: 

• Small class sizes
• 6 foot spacing
• Wearing masks
• Washing and sanitizing hands
• Health screeners every morning
• Staying home when sick 

These measures will continue to go a long way in keeping our school community healthy.  Please remember to keep your child home if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms and notify the school immediately.  

We miss our students already, and we hope to bring them back as soon as possible.  In the meantime, students are receiving live, real time instruction at home from their teachers every day!   Please reach out to anyone on our team if you have questions or concerns.  We want to get this right!  Thank you for your support during this incredibly difficult time.  We know the changes are taxing on our families.  We are here to support each other as much as possible.  It takes a village!

Best,

The LCHS Admin Team 

Ben Cairns , Principal 719-293-1232

Erin Dillon, Assistant Principal 719-293-0103

Lisa Berman, Special Education Academic Dean 719-427-0107