Three high schools in Douglas County School District have closed for two weeks following multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Approximately 4,000 students between Douglas County High School and Castle View High School will begin virtual classes on Sept. 28, the school district informed families Friday. They follow more than 2,300 students at Mountain Vista High School, who transitioned to remote education Tuesday.
The announcements came after two people at Douglas County High, two people at Mountain Vista and one person at Castle View recently tested positive for the virus. In letters to families, the district noted these were “additional” cases in the schools. Spokeswoman Paula Hans could not immediately confirm how many total cases have been reported in each facility.
The move to virtual learning is primarily due to a shortage of substitutes needed to fill in for staff who are quarantined, Hans said. More than two dozen staff members at Douglas County High and Mountain Vista are currently in quarantine, the district told families.
Students who are learning remotely but were not exposed or required to quarantine may still participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
Douglas County joins a growing list of districts to transition entire student bodies online due to COVID-19. Earlier this month, went remote following an outbreak in one educational cohort. and also temporarily moved online, citing staffing issues related to COVID-19 quarantines.
