Archuleta School District Superintendent Dr. Kym LeBlanc-Esparza announced in a memo sent to staff Friday that the high school will move to remote learning Monday due to the impact of COVID-19 on the school.
The move is expected to last until Nov. 30, following Thanksgiving break.
"This week has proven to be a bit of a roller coaster. In education we like to plan things out, be thoughtful with a communications plan and move with purpose. This virus is really challenging those norms!" LeBlanc-Esparza wrote. "Each day we seem to have to respond to a new case through quarantines, isolations and potential shifts to remote learning for impacted students. That said, I want to be sure our staff has accurate information about COVID cases within our district. To date, we have had 2 confirmed staff cases and 2 confirmed student cases. One student case was at the middle school, and just yesterday afternoon we were informed of a positive student case at the high school."
LeBlanc-Esparza continues that, "Due to the impact on over a half dozen staff members at the high school, five classes and both JV and Varsity football players at this point, we have had to make the decision to transition high school to remote learning for next week."
The superintendent noted that the high school classes will operate synchronously.
"This means that students and staff will be expected to 'show up' to class, on time, virtually," she wrote.
She added that, as of midday Friday, the district is anticipating that all other schools will continue with the current schedule of four days of in-person learning.
