HEALTH DATA

County health data has stalled out, with mixed levels and some beneficial trends.
https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/covid19data-dashboard
On the three key population health measures, this is the status as of Monday morning, September 28, 2020:

Key Measure #1:  14-Day Incidence per 100,000 *Lower is better
Rating:  Acceptable Level with Mixed Trend
The Case rate has declined from a high of 157, to today’s level of 72 which is in the “High” range (50-100) it is significant that our case rate has been increasing for two weeks, and peaked over the weekend at over 76. That level is concerning, and the recent trend has raised enough to put us on alert for future trends. It is encouraging that we’ve had two days of declining numbers, but we need to see at least a full week, and preferably two weeks of declining trends to reestablish our confidence that county population health is supporting our return to learn. We will continue tracking this measure daily. At the current levels and trends it is highly likely we will enter and exit fall break at the 50% level for MS and HS students.

Key Measure #2: Daily PCR Test Positivity (14-Day Average) *Lower is better
Rating:  Very Good Level with Stable Trend
The test positivity rate is at 2.55% today, under the public health target (maximum) of 5%. We want that number lower, so being under 5% is good. The long-term trend and level are both positive. Overall, as case rates drop, total testing rates may drop which could lead to an increased test positivity rate even as fewer total positive tests are conducted. So far, we are not seeing case rates drop, and we’ve seen our total number of tests increase, which is a beneficial factor for overall health tracking. The average turnaround time for test results has improved to 1.79 days. Due to logistics realities for collection, transfer to lab, and lab processes, any average turnaround under two days is near optimal.

Key Measure #3: Community Health Agency Capacity
Rating:  Very Good Level with Stable Trend
This measure is a composite of hospitalization and death rates, which reveal the intensity of infectious spread and resulting illness. Over the last 14 days, EPC has tracked 19 hospitalizations and 2 deaths, numbers, that while concerning and tragic, are well within the county’s health capacity to care and support.

DISTRICT INCIDENT DATA
Rating:  Good Level with Stable Trend
As of Sunday, August 27, District 49 has tracked and traced 225 workforce incidents of known or suspected COVID symptoms, infections, or exposure at our district-operated and chartered schools within district boundaries.

Of those, 33 have been presumed or confirmed Tier Zero cases. Of those Tier Zero cases, 23 have tested negative and 10 (total) have tested positive, with the remainder still monitoring symptoms. 

HEALTH DATA

County health data continues to move in a positive direction, with mixed levels and beneficial trends.
https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/covid19data-dashboard
On the three key population health measures, this is the status as of Monday morning, September 21, 2020:

Key Measure #1:  14-Day Incidence per 100,000 *Lower is better
Rating:  Acceptable Level with Mixed Trend
The Case rate has declined from a high of 157, to today’s level of 62. While still in the “High” range (50-100) it is significant that we are almost out of the “High” band and into the medium band, with further declines projected. The level is still concerning, and the declining (positive) trend has flattened out and raised slightly, as we projected would happen based on county projection for dynamics after Labor Day. We will continue tracking this measure daily.

Key Measure #2: Daily PCR Test Positivity (14-Day Average) *Lower is better
Rating:  Very Good Level with Improving Trend
The test positivity rate is at 2.61% today, under the public health target (maximum) of 5%. We want that number lower, so being under 5% is good. The long-term trend and level are both positive. Overall, as case rates drop, total testing rates may drop which could lead to an increased test positivity rate even as fewer total positive tests are conducted. The average turnaround time for test results has improved to 1.67 days average. Due to logistics realities for collection, transfer to lab, and lab processes, any average turnaround under two days is near optimal.

Key Measure #3: Community Health Agency Capacity
Rating:  Very Good Level with Stable Trend
This measure is a composite of hospitalization and death rates, which reveal the intensity of infectious spread and resulting illness. Over the last 14 days, EPC has tracked 23 hospitalizations and 4 deaths, numbers, that while concerning and tragic, are well within the county’s health capacity to care and support.

DISTRICT INCIDENT DATA
Rating:  Good Level with Stable Trend
As of Sunday, August 20, District 49 has tracked and traced 198 workforce incidents of known or suspected COVID symptoms, infections, or exposure at our district-operated and chartered schools within district boundaries.

Of those, 33 have been presumed or confirmed Tier Zero cases. Of those Tier Zero cases, 23 have tested negative and 10 (total) have tested positive, with the remainder still monitoring symptoms. 

We raised again to our high mark of incidents, but with no new positive cases. All of the recent incidents have been in the precautionary category.
We have still not tracked a single incident of transmission at a district school or other facility. 

HEALTH DATA

County health data continues to move in a positive direction, with mixed levels and beneficial trends.
https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/covid19data-dashboard
On the three key population health measures, this is the status as of Monday morning, September 14, 2020:

Key Measure #1:  14-Day Incidence per 100,000 *Lower is better

The Case rate has declined from a high of 157, to today’s level of 53. While still in the “High” range (50-100) it is significant that we are almost out of the “High” band and into the medium band, with further declines projected. The level is still concerning, but the trend continues to improve. If we continue the trajectory of declining cases, we should cross into the low band in early October, a level we have not reached since April. Of note, El Paso County measured 1157 active (contagious stage) cases on July 27. On month later, that number is down to 376.  CAVEAT: Regional return-to-school dynamics, post-Labor Day impacts, and recent large-group gatherings around our community will almost certainly influence the levels and trends, so don’t be surprised if the positive trend slows down, flattens out, or even reverses slightly.

 

District 49 will begin the 20-21 school year on August 17, with remote learning as our primary mode, with a goal of a staggered, in-person return, after Labor Day.

August 10, 2020

At an important meeting this afternoon with El Paso County Public Health, D49’s chief officers learned that multiple critical population health measures remain higher than state and county maximum levels. In addition, we conducted two robust conversations with over 2,000 members of our workforce and parent community to identify priorities and concerns about our return to learn. These three data sources (county health, workforce, and parents) all indicate the same thing: for our community and our district, August 17 is too early to safely return to in-person learning. 

In addition, the current state guidelines about quarantines and closures at school would almost certainly require us to close multiple schools shortly after opening them. In the past week, we have experienced that infections from our surrounding community have triggered testing, notifications, contact tracing and precautionary quarantines among staff members currently on campus. At the same time, we have heard parents and the workforce voice a strong preference to take more time to enhance our safety system and compliance practices.

Complete information on the Back to School page

Dear Volunteers, 

As we continue to plan for our return to in-person learning and seek to provide a safe environment for students, staff, and guests, we are evaluating ways to minimize potential exposure to COVID-19.  As a result, we are temporarily and indefinitely suspending volunteer service at all D49 locations.

We recognize the valuable contributions of our volunteers and look forward to welcoming you back to our schools in the future. We do not know when that will happen. However, when it does, we will notify our volunteers. 

For those who no longer wish to be on the volunteer list, please contact Chris Bettencourt at cbettencourt@d49.org.

Contact Chris Bettencourt, HR Assistant, or me if you have any concerns or questions regarding volunteers.

Best regards,
Jen DeFranco
Human Resources Manager

Monday, July 27, 2020

Dear D49 Family,

Today our Board of Education approved delaying the start of school to Monday, August 17 with a mix of E-learning and in-person options. In addition to this guidance, the BOE also directed the chief officers to publish a final decision about the balance of in-person and E-learning by August 10. As teachers begin returning to work this week, the delayed start will give an extra gift of time for more detailed planning, problem-solving and communicating with parents and students.

In recent weeks we have seen a steady increase of COVID-19 cases in the Pikes Peak Region. As these numbers climbed, so did feelings of uncertainty among our D49 family…shared directly through feedback from our teachers, and reflected in greater requests from our families to take advantage of our developing E-learning options. Multiple D49 campus leaders report the requests for E-learning equal nearly half of their school’s student population. Based on these factors, along with expert guidance from El Paso County Public Health, delaying our return to learn extends our planning window to ensure we effectively meet the needs of the D49 family.  

Moving forward, our chief officers will offer the board up-to-date conditions and the district’s response during regular scheduled meetings throughout the COVID emergency. These updates will lay out our decision-making process for potential adjustments as we move through the school year. We will rely on expert guidance from EPCPH and remain agile if conditions require us to change our strategy quickly. 

Please continue to watch our regular channels of communication for updated information. Our return to learn for the ‘20-21 school year will be like no other that we can remember, but we are committed to walking forward together, serving with purpose, respect and care in the very safest way possible. 

Sincerely,

David Nancarrow

Director of Communications

El Paso County Public Health Recommendation for Delaying Return to Learn
Board of Education to Meet July 27

Thursday, July 23

Dear D49 Family,

Late last night El Paso County Public Health announced it’s strong recommendation that K-12 districts delay in-person learning until at least August 17 based on increasing COVID-19 cases in the Pikes Peak Region. This recommendation is an amendment to previously published guidance hosted at the county website. District 49 will consider this new guidance as part of our planning process, and our board of education will meet Monday, July 27, to consider taking action on the EPCPH recommendations. 

Our published plan has been to welcome most D49 kindergarteners, sixth and ninth grade students to school August 7, with a full return of all students on August 10. County health leaders advise that a delay through August 17 will allow them to review four full weeks of data to assess the impact of Governor Polis’ mandatory mask decree and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts. That analysis will offer updated, and better information to support school health and safety strategies.

Over the next few days, preparations for our return to learn will kick into high gear as building teams meet and detail school-based plans for reopening. We will use the week of August 3 as scheduled for building teams to fine tune and finalize plans to safely support in-person learning in conjunction with school-based E-learning options.  

Our teams of return to learn planners, along with the D49 Board of Education will solicit input and consider the implications of  the county’s recommendation to determine next steps for our district. We are relying heavily on our partners at EPCPH as we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we know EPCPH shares our values when it comes to student, staff, and family health and safety.

Please continue to monitor our regular channels of communication for updates. We thank you for your valuable feedback, patience and understanding.  

Sincerely, 

David Nancarrow

Director of Communications

July 2, 2020

Dear D49 Families,

The beginning of our next school year is approaching rapidly! Although our community has done an admirable job containing the spread of COVID-19, we are still working with conditions and restrictions that will make school look far from normal when we open in August. Because we are planning to return with full enrollment on a standard schedule, we are working to make sure our schools balance the best possible education with the safest learning conditions.

To begin, we are delaying the planned start of school by four days to create time for planning and preparation. Unless new public health or other conditions disrupt our planned calendar, we intend to follow the remainder of the school year calendar as published and posted. The return schedule will look like this:

More information and a "Q&A" section is available on our Back to School Page.

Lunch Update: Holiday and Final Day

June 26, 2020

Dear D49 Families,

As we continue to support our families while operating in alignment with state and local public health guidelines that extend beyond our campuses and our regular school year calendar, we will continue our daily meal distributions through the middle of July, concluding our distributions on July 17. 

Due to the Fourth of July holiday, we will not serve meals on Friday, July 3. We will provide two days worth of meals on Thursday, July 2.

We will serve grab-and-go meals Monday - Friday from 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. at our three D49 locations: 

Evans International Elementary School

Odyssey Elementary School

Falcon Elementary School of Technology 

Please continue to check our regular channels of communications for updates.   

Return to School Plan & Survey

June 10, 2020

Based on new guidance from Governor Jared Polis, we have converted our previous return to school framework from a reduced class size and alternating day schedule model to the full-schedule, full-attendance framework you see outlined in the model below.
Here are a few highlights:

• D49 will operate a full-schedule, five-day week.
• D49 will form cohorts of students who will learn and move together during the day with reduced contact to limit the incidence of exposure and possible spread of illness.
• D49 will expect staff to wear masks, and will recommend students to wear masks.
• D49 will implement health protocols for screening, detecting and responding to exposure and infection.

Our previous reduced class sizes and alternating day schedule will now be our backup model (to be used in case an outbreak or other circumstance changes the conditions) We are now evaluating the following model for immediate preparation and implementation in August, closely considering the rationales and unknowns that you will see in greater detail in the model you see here. 

Please read through the Model's 7 Elements and take the survey, link is below. 

As we have seen with this situation, this plan could change based on new information and guidance from the state or county. 

The Model:

ELEMENT 1

• D49 will operate a full-schedule, five-day week.

RATIONALE

• Recent statements from Governor Polis indicate that upcoming guidance from the state level will permit class sizes of 25 or more, consistent with realistic protocols for distancing, hygiene, and personal responsibility.

UNKNOWNS 

• How will we adjust class schedules and campus schedules to reduce student mobility throughout the day?
• How will we support individual students who need specialized accommodations to access learningin our new model?

ELEMENT 2

• D49 will form cohorts of students who will learn and move together during the day. We will reduce contact between cohorts to reduce the incidence of exposure and possible transmission.

RATIONALE

• Scheduling students in cohorts will reduce the degree of contact and minimize the need for contact tracing if a student or staff member is infected.
• Reduced contact through social distancing has coincided with reduced transmission rates across many populations.

UNKNOWNS 

• How will we establish cohorts as students arrive at school and release cohorts at the end of the day?
• At secondary schools, where classes include students from multiple grades, how will we adapt cohort principles to minimize contact across large groups?

ELEMENT 3

• D49 will maintain the current school day schedule--not extending or shortening the schedule.

RATIONALE

• Even with larger class sizes and a more normalized schedule, the new model will be challenging to implement and manage.
• Remaining with the standard schedule will maintain a known, sustainable model.

UNKNOWNS 

• How will a cohorted model of student presence affect the transfer time between classes?
  

ELEMENT 4

• D49 will expect staff to wear masks, and will recommend students to wear masks.

RATIONALE

• Current best recommendations from CDE and health agencies include staff wearing masks.
• Recommending that students wear masks sets a cautious standard, without creating a rigid requirement that is probably unenforceable and disruptive.

UNKNOWNS 

• How will individual workforce members respond to the expectation to wear masks?
• Will an open culture for student mask wearing create tension or conflict?
• How will we implement exceptions for staff members who can not wear a mask?

ELEMENT 5

• D49 will implement health protocols for screening, detecting and responding to exposure and infection.

RATIONALE

• Screening for symptoms such as elevated temperatures, or contact tracing after exposure to infected individuals provides an additional layer of protection to district students, parents, and staff. 

UNKNOWNS 

• How will we manage the logistics of regular screening?
• Will we need additional personnel or equipment to implement our health protocols?

ELEMENT 6

• D49 will operate near-normal bus routes but with capacity limited on each bus to one student per seat with siblings sharing a seat. 

RATIONALE

• Solo seating with sibling sharing will best balance the value of enhanced distancing while still preserving some transportation efficiency. 

UNKNOWNS 

• Since reduced seating will reduce our bus fleet capacity, will transportation demand exceed our capacity?
• Will riders be willing to wear masks to increase the bus carrying capacity?

ELEMENT 7

• D49 will operate a full-scale food service adapted to a grab-and-go model rather than a conventional lunchroom with large-quantity serving lines. 

RATIONALE

• Proving a mobile meal service, either through pickup or delivery of packaged meals, will support the cohort model for student learning and mobility. 

UNKNOWNS 

• How will preparing packaged meals change our staffing and scheduling needs?
• Will we prioritize cashless, no-contact methods of payment for nutrition services?

The Return to School Survey 

49Voices: Return to School School Preferences

The option to take the June survey is no longer available. 

June 7, 2020

Dear Class of 2020 and D49 Families,

We are thrilled to share with you that new guidance from Governor Polis and our partners at El Paso County Public Health WILL allow us to welcome family members of the Class of 2020 to our outdoor graduation ceremonies for Vista Ridge, Sand Creek and Falcon High Schools June 25, 26, and 27. We do not have final approval for a specific number, but our preliminary indication is that each graduate would be able to invite at least two guests, with a real possibility of expanding that invitation if the county confirms our math and our preventative measures. 

This approval is based in part on encouraging progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19, resulting in the gradual safe return to regular activities and Governor Polis’ continued relaxation of in-person restrictions. From the start, we wanted our graduates to celebrate their accomplishments with their families at a largely traditional ceremony. We listened to your desires for an outdoor graduation on a delayed schedule to give us the best opportunity to bring families together for the event. We continued to work with our partners at the state and local level, never losing hope this could be possible. Thank you for your enduring patience and trust. 

We are also grateful to our partners at UCHealth Stadium, home of the Rocky Mountain Vibes. Their speedy response during our search for an outdoor venue and professionalism in hosting large events opened the door to the plans we’ve made so far. We will continue to listen to their expertise as we develop a plan to safely host a socially-distanced crowd of spectators for our graduation ceremonies. 

We will work with EPCPH and UCHealth Stadium staff to work out the best next steps. Although we will welcome family members, we anticipate having to set a per-graduate invitation limit to safely manage the available space we have while following physical distancing and cleaning protocols to minimize the potential for any further spread of infection. 

On behalf of the entire team in District 49, we thank you again for walking together with us through planning a ceremony to honor and celebrate the class of 2020. Please keep an eye on our regular channels of communication for updates as we finalize our plan. 

Sincerely,

Peter Hilts

Chief Education Officer

Dear D49 Families,

Although we gathered a significant number of the Chromebooks and hotspots we shared for this season of E-learning, at the conclusion of our scheduled collection events we quickly discovered hundreds of the district’s devices are still out there. Accordingly, we will reopen our collection process this week for families who were unable to drop off their devices during the previous scheduled return period. Please return those devices and charging cables (in a plastic bag, if possible) to the D49 Creekside Success Center (3850 Pony Tracks Dr., Colorado Springs). A map of the dropoff location is attached to this message.

The schedule for Chromebook and hotspot returns is as follows:

Tuesday, June 2, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 4, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Returning these devices will ensure our schools are equipped to properly meet the needs of our students for the upcoming school year. A member of the D49 team on site will greet you in the Creekside lobby to collect your devices and will ask for your student’s name and school to begin the return process. 

We thank you for your cooperation! If you have questions, please email them to cbreturn@d49.org.

Sincerely, 
School District 49 Technology Service Team