Dear Storm King Community Members;
I am writing to provide you with more information regarding our recent positive cases of COVID-19. Following our long weekend, we randomly tested over 70 members of our student body, faculty and staff. Testing identified two individuals with positive cases of COVID-19. Both individuals are doing well. One has mild symptoms and the other has no symptoms.
As you know, we moved to remote learning on Thursday, October 29. Our contact tracers conducted their work during the day and evening of the 29th to identify those individuals who needed to quarantine for the next 14 days. Nine faculty and staff members and 24 students were identified as needing to quarantine for the next two weeks.
Due to the large number of faculty and students who must quarantine, we have determined that the best way to fully deliver our academic program is to continue with online learning over the next two weeks. As of this writing, classes will remain online through Thursday, November 12. The campus will be closed for day students during this time. Boarding students who are not under quarantine will attend meals in the dining hall as usual and we will provide a modified afternoon activity program for them.
The process of testing, identifying possible cases, and moving to online learning is all consistent with the Reopening Plan we created to manage this school year. The discovery of some positive cases should not be seen as unexpected, and demonstrates why we have taken the many steps we have to enable us to work through various issues that may arise. We will continue to monitor the health of our community through daily screenings and regular random testing moving forward.
I want to thank our school nurse, and our faculty, students and staff for their hard work and flexibility. I especially want to thank all of our parents for their ongoing positive energy and willingness to be flexible in the face of the challenging nature of this school year. Please continue to stay safe and healthy, and don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.
