27 students at Modesto City Schools test positive, number of students quarantined unclear
Modesto City Schools reported a 0.109% positivity rate the first week of school, or 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and seven among staff, according to its COVID-19 dashboard update Tuesday afternoon.
Spokeswoman Krista Noonan said in an email that the district could not provide data on the number of students in quarantine, citing health privacy regulations.
When asked if parents should be concerned, Noonan provided a statement saying, “Modesto City Schools continues to uphold all health and safety protocols to ensure a safe in-person learning environment.“ This includes the indoor mask mandate, increased ventilation and cleaning protocols.
Of the positive student cases, 10 were reported at elementary schools, four were at junior high schools and 13 were at high schools. Six staff cases were reported at high schools, and one was reported at Bret Harte Elementary.
Fremont Elementary and Open Plan had the highest positivity rate at 0.629%, or four student cases. These were not confined to one classroom, Noonan said.
School officials are “working with our school sites to provide learning materials for our students who may be quarantined due to COVID,” Noonan said.
Electronic learning packets and resources for TK-6 grade students in quarantine will be posted by Thursday morning on the district’s website, Noonan said.
Teachers of 7-12 grade students will upload learning materials and lessons via Schoology, Modesto City Schools’ online learning platform, Noonan said. All students have been provided a Chromebook to access learning materials.
District leaders have not been given a threshold to determine when a class needs to shut down due to COVID, Noonan said. “We work with Public Health on a case-by-case basis to determine if a class needs to be closed or completely quarantined,” she said.
The district notifies close contacts using seating charts. Close contacts are defined as people who came within 6 feet of the person who tested positive for at least 15 minutes. Noonan said she could not provide an average number of close contacts for students who test positive because it “varies based on the classroom configuration and where the student sits.”
School leaders also send notifications to school site staff when alerted to positive cases.
The district’s most recent dashboard update prior to this one was June 4. Then, the district reported a positivity rate of 0.012% for the two weeks prior, which reflected one case each among staff and students. Only about half of students and staff were on campus at the time because of student cohorts and reduced class sizes.
During the first week of school, by comparison, 31,064 students and staff across the district attended school in person, according to data from the dashboard.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 8:52 AM.
