GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Cherry Creek Schools' percentage of COVID-19 cases among students and staff remains extremely low, but that hasn't meant a lack of disruptions to in-person learning: In the last week, 40 groups of students and staff have been forced to quarantine due to positive cases, impacting classes at all grade levels.
As of Thursday, 809 students and 92 staffers were under quarantine. That makes up 1.70% of the district's students and 1.11% of the district's staff, according to district data.
The district has 108 students and 11 staffers currently positive for COVID-19, about 0.23% and 0.13%, respectively.
Among the clusters of cases, 10 students recently tested positive at Cherokee Trail High School, resulting in 54 students having to quarantine at home, according to a letter sent to parents on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, another cluster of five cases at Cherokee Trail was identified, sending 22 students into quarantine.
Students and staff must quarantine if they are identified as being in close contact — within six feet for 15 minutes or longer — with someone who tested positive.
Positive cases — and subsequent quarantines — were also announced at Grandview High School, Smoky Hill High School and Eaglecrest High School on Wednesday.
At Eaglecrest, four students tested positive, forcing 24 students to quarantine. Other quarantines were smaller. At Smoky Hill, one student had tested positive, resulting in two other students having to quarantine.
Here's the full list of quarantine groups in the Cherry Creek district, and information about each one.
The Cherry Creek cases and quarantines come as the district returned this semester to offering in-person learning for elementary students and a hybrid model for secondary schools.
Other districts in Colorado are returning to a similar model, including Jeffco Public Schools and Thompson School District, over the next two weeks. Most Colorado districts went fully-remote after COVID-19 cases surged in the fall, citing disruptions due to quarantines as a main factor in sending students home.