TeSA Families,
Our positive case count on campus rose from 1 to 11 last week. When a parent reports a positive case to us, Nurse Edna and I quickly work with the teachers to establish if any students were considered within close contact of the identified person. Any students determined to be within close contact are removed from the classroom and their families are called to pick them up from school immediately. When a positive case is reported outside of school hours, I personally call each family to let them know about the situation and ask them to start quarantining their child.
A close contact is defined as, "someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated." Although we are trying to keep students socially distanced, it is just not possible to be further than 6 feet apart in most classrooms, so with each positive case it is likely a couple of additional students will be quarantined.
Each day that there are any new cases, you will receive an email with an official letter. You can also view the daily COVID case count and all of our official policies and procedures on our website. If you do not receive a personal phone call, there is no need to quarantine your child. If you choose to temporarily switch to At-Home Learning, please email edna.robinson@mytesa.org so we can document accordingly.
Artistically & Academically Yours,
Betsy Compton, M.A., M.A.T., M.Ed.
Principal
Texas School of the Arts
