Good afternoon Staff, Students, Parents, and Members of the Community,

For anyone that has been paying attention, this will come as no surprise. But with the recent increase in COVID cases in Park County, and more specifically Powell, we also have an increase in staff and students that are isolated (having tested positive for the virus) or Quarantined (having been in close contact with someone else that has tested positive). Our current numbers are now at 4 positive cases (3 at the HS and 1 at an elementary level) and 30 in quarantine. ( 11 High School, 5 Middle School, 3 Parkside, 5 Southside, and 6 Westside).

That being said, I want to say on a positive note that we have had no school level transmission of the virus that we know of. We believe this to be the case, as we track all known cases very closely, and in most cases, the positives have been traced to non-school related exposure, and none of those quarantined from exposure at school have become positive cases. This means that the systems we have in place are doing their job to a very large extent.

However, I am not sure we can keep this thing at bay a whole lot longer without an all-out community effort. It is so vitally important for our kids to stay in face-to-face instruction as long as we can possibly manage. As temperatures start to dip, we will all be inside a great deal more, which we know tends to spread the virus more readily. As such, I suppose I am asking for our entire community to be as diligent as possible in following the CDC recommendations of washing your hands often, avoiding close contact, using face coverings when you are around others, cover coughs and sneezes, and monitoring your health daily.

I understand that some of these recommendations, particularly the use of face coverings, have political connotations attached to them. I just can’t get bogged down in that, or let the district get bogged down in that, as we have 1,800 students and all of their parents that rely on us to provide the best public education we can. Our students also deserve the richness that athletics and activities bring to the educational program. We just can’t get it done without help from everyone.

I speak for all in the district when I say thank you for all that has been done to help us get kids back in school and keep them here. We are in week 9, which is much longer than many expected. I just want to extend that streak as long as we possibly can!

Have a great week,

Superintendent Jay Curtis