Re: Wednesday Covid Update

[Reid Priedhorsky]

Shannon, Jennifer, board members:

Before we get into my concerns, let me open by saying that I appreciate the proactive decision to go remote across the board last Friday. One of my ongoing concerns is that LAPS management is mostly reactive, which is not the right way to deal with a public health emergency. So this is a step in the right direction. I hope there are more.

My first concern:

I continue to be frustrated by the outdated close contacts definition used by LAPS. COVID is airborne, and thus the 6 foot business is irrelevant in well-mixed room air. On top of that, there’s the weird special definition for use in schools, as if the virus somehow behaves differently depending on the type of institution it’s in.

Why does LAPS leadership not even acknowledge the concerns with this close contact definition? It has been repeatedly brought to your attention.

Further, LAPS does not provide enough information for parents to use a more appropriate close contacts definition even if they want to. This conceals critical health information.

Finally, what steps is LAPS taking to maximize the fraction of positive cases that are reported to you, and why are you not publishing estimates of the number that are unreported? This again conceals the true prevalence of COVID at school.

Thank you,

Reid Priedhorsky

LAPS parent

On Jan 12, 2022, at 4:38 PM, Shannon Trujillo <s.tru...@laschools.net> wrote:

Aspen Families,

I am writing to let you know that we were informed today of three positive COVID cases among the student body.  The students were last on campus on Tuesday, January 11th.  All close contacts have been notified.  If you have not been notified, your student(s) are NOT a close contact. 

I want to reassure you that part of our protocol is to perform internal contact tracing and determine close contacts.  A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6 ft of a confirmed positive case for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. Again, all close contacts have been notified. For more information about the process for determining close contacts, see the NM Public Education Department Covid-19 Toolkit.

Students at Aspen have been wearing masks consistently while in the building and our teachers use assigned seating, hand washing, and other preventive protocols. 

If your student comes down with symptoms of fever of 100.3 degrees or higher, headache, cough or any other symptoms of COVID, please go see your pediatrician immediately.  The pediatrician can test for several illnesses including strep, COVID and more depending on the symptoms. Please keep your child home from school if they become sick for any reason and notify our absence line at 

aspena...@laschools.net

If you need to report a COVID positive student or exposure, please contact our School Nurse, Misha Brown at 663-2305.

We are committed to keeping our school community safe and well-informed by communicating facts directly with you as quickly as possible.  Please contact me if you have any questions at (505) 663-2285 or s.tru...@laschools.net

Definitions

• Close Contact Inside:  If masked and within 3 feet for 15 minutes or longer of the COVID positive student. All students wear masks indoors.

• Close Contact Outside:  If masked and within 3 feet for 15 minutes or longer of the COVID positive student.  If unmasked and within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer of the COVID positive student. 

• The 15 minutes is cumulative per 24-hour period.

Covid Quick Links:

• LAPS Information Center

• LAPS Overall Positive Case Count (this case may not yet be reflected in totals).

• NM Department of Health (NMDOH) COVID-19 Updates

• CDC Covid-19 Guidelines and Resources

• NM Public Educ. Dept. Covid-19 Response Toolkit July 26, 2021

• NM DOH Testing Portal - anyone can register for a COVID test

• NM DOH Covid Test Results Center

• NM Covid Hotline 855-600-3453

 

Sincerely,

Shannon Trujillo

Aspen Assistant Principal

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