Two high schools in Douglas County School District are moving to remote learning this week, after the number of people forced to quarantine due to possible COVID-19 exposure made in-person learning untenable.
Douglas County High School in Castle Rock and Legend High School in Parker will transition all students online Tuesday, according to announcements sent to families Monday. Both expect to resume in-person classes on Nov. 30, after fall break.
A note to Douglas County High families cited “a number” of positive cases that led to “a large number of staff members, in addition to many of our students” being quarantined. Spokesman Nate Jones could not immediately clarify how many cases have been reported; however, the district has notified families and staff of at least three other cases this month.
“Due to the lack of available substitute teachers to cover in-person classes, we have made the decision to transition all learning at DCHS to virtual learning beginning on Tuesday, November 10. There is no in-person school tomorrow,” the district said.
Legend High School has also reported at least three cases this month. On Nov. 5, ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch shut down for similar reasons.
This is not the first time high schools in the district were forced to go virtual due to COVID-19. In September, Douglas County High, Castle View High School and Mountain Vista High School shut down in-person learning because too many educators were quarantined.
Despite other districts in the Denver metro area shifting students online in response to increasingly concerning COVID-19 trends, Douglas has yet to implement remote learning broadly. On Friday, newly appointed Dougco Superintendent Corey Wise said he was strongly considering such a transition. The board of education is planning to discuss the issue at its meeting Tuesday, Jones said.
On Monday, Adams 12 Five Star Schools made the call for all students to do virtual learning from Nov. 16 through the end of the semester. Other districts currently operating remotely include Cherry Creek School District, Aurora Public Schools, Sheridan School District No. 2, Westminster Public Schools, and Adams County School District 14. Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district, has implemented or extended remote learning for all grades except P-2.
