Dear FVS Community,
We are nearing the end of quarantine, and tomorrow we will be back to our old, new normal. The Dining Hall will reopen, day student buses will begin operating on the second quarter schedule, we will resume in-person learning, and the Athletics Center will also be open for use following our pre-quarantine schedule.
The past few days have not been easy and we have learned a lot. I’m grateful for the patience and resilience that I’ve seen in abundance in our students, as well as the can-do attitude of the faculty and staff who have stepped up to make it all work. Thank you also to the many people who have reached out to share constructive feedback, offer assistance, or let us know that they’re struggling. We have worked each day literally around the clock to improve what we can, support each other, and we remain committed to doing so as we move forward.
In this update, I hope to provide you with additional transparency about how this situation unfolded and our course of action, as well as an update on the regional landscape, which, unfortunately, is not moving in a positive direction.
Late last Tuesday, the Health Center reported a presumptive positive case of COVID-19 and four additional, separate individuals on campus who were being evaluated for multiple symptoms, some of whom were possibly connected to the confirmed case. These individuals were moved into quarantine and the School’s COVID-19 response team convened immediately to begin contact tracing, to establish timelines for the affected individuals, and begin planning contingencies. The following day, another two individuals presented as symptomatic and were moved to quarantine.
Following the measures determined by the El Paso County Department of Health, and through our contact tracing protocols, we quickly identified more than 100 faculty and students spread across several different cohorts who had spent more than 15 consecutive minutes within 6 feet of the individuals in question. We also determined that quarantining this large of a portion of our community at that point in time was simply not possible without uprooting virtually every student and faculty member on campus from their current location. We then made the decision to immediately move into a community-wide quarantine in order to contain any further potential spread while we continued to evaluate the situation and respond.
In the following days, all individuals who were being monitored tested negative for COVID-19 and saw their symptoms resolve. Each was evaluated and released by a team consisting of the Health Center staff, the School’s Medical Director, and the El Paso County Department of Health’s Epidemiologist. By the end of the week, we received authorization from the County Department of Health to resume in-person learning on Tuesday, October 20 pending no further negative developments.
Our situation changed in literally a matter of hours and we are fortunate to have the outcome that we do. Second only to the health and well-being of the students and our employees, our goal is to continue in-person learning and this is a reminder of both the value it holds as well as the delicate balance that allows it to happen.
Herein lies one of the many challenges of COVID-19 and the current season in Colorado. Many of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 are also those of seasonal allergies, the common cold, flu, stomach virus, and others. As such, when these symptoms present themselves we must take them as possible COVID-19 symptoms until we have certainty otherwise.
The El Paso County Department of Health has created a 13-page dashboard of critical statistics that is one of the tools we use to evaluate risk in the surrounding community. Unfortunately, this morning, we reached a grim milestone where the 14-day average number of daily new cases exceeded the previous peak established in August. This data is reported on page four of the dashboard. Also of concern is the rate of change—cases are rising faster than they have before as is the rate of positive test results.
Because of this trend in the data, we have determined that the current landscape is such that it is no longer prudent to authorize participation in non-FVS off-campus athletics and activities. All students previously approved to do so have been notified of this change and may elect to attend classes through distance learning if they wish to continue their off-campus sport or activity. This decision will be revisited weekly and adjusted if safe to do so.
Moving forward, we continue to rely upon our established protocols for identifying possible cases of COVID-19 as our first and most important line of defense. We take and record students’ temperatures regularly, and each member of our community, including employees, must complete a daily survey of symptoms. In addition, we have been conducting random testing for the past few weeks, and are working to expand this program with the goal of testing a significant portion of the community each week. Unfortunately, the current testing landscape presents challenges that are currently preventing us from reaching this mark, but we are exploring and exhausting all avenues and will continue to do so until our goal is achieved.
With that, it is also important to acknowledge that quarantining/monitoring symptoms and testing are neither mutually exclusive, nor an absolute safety net that can definitively rule out risk. Best practice recommends both. I want to remind you that our first case earlier this year was caught by testing but remained asymptomatic through recovery. Conversely, the most recent confirmed case showed severe symptoms and was clinically diagnosed by the aforementioned team of medical professionals, but never tested positive throughout.
As we forge ahead, you will have questions, you will experience a range of emotions, and that is OK. I encourage you to reach out for support and clarity, and I ask for you to be mindful of our community guideposts. Lean into your discomfort and seek to understand by leading with questions while being aware of any assumptions that may underlie your uncertainty. Assume the best in others, and assume that they will do the same.
What we do know for certain is the value of in-person learning, and the important support that is provided by seeing each other each day. We must, and we will, continue to work together to ensure that we retain this privilege and I thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to this wonderful community.
With Gratitude,
William Webb
Head of School
Fountain Valley School of Colorado
6155 Fountain Valley School Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80911
