By Melissa Rosequist | Scottsdale Independent
Chaparral High School won’t close or resume online-only classes even though it has seen a jump in COVID-19 cases and consistently reported cases since September.
The Scottsdale Unified School District high school at 6935 E. Gold Dust Ave. reported 14 cases of COVID-19 as of last Friday, Oct. 16, by far the highest number at a school in the district for the week.
The week prior, Cherokee Elementary had five cases, but those have been resolved, officials said.
“The numbers at Chaparral are high, although four of the 14 cases reflected in the dashboard were students who did not attend school last week,” said SUSD Superintendent Scott A. Menzel.
“In the case of Cherokee, the students who were identified as positive are no longer considered active cases. Once an isolation/quarantine period is over – and the individual is symptom free – then the individual is removed from the count.”
While district officials said they would consider moving back to online education at board meetings, officials said it is not an option at this point.
Dr. Menzel responded via email to the Independent’s request for clarification on recent data reflecting reported COVID-19 cases following a public records request in which information was provided from the Maricopa County COVID data dashboard that reflects current, lab-confirmed active cases in the district from Friday, Sept. 25 to Thursday, Oct. 15.
Schools are required to disclose any outbreaks to staff, faculty, students and parents. Following the lead of the Arizona Department of Health Services, which mandated that emergency measures are taken as of Aug. 24, schools, child care facilities and shelters must report outbreaks to local health officials.
Meanwhile, the probability and inevitability of COVID-19 cases in district schools does not go unnoticed as SUSD joins many in the region with reported incidents.
According to the data, there is a steady occurrence of cases throughout the district but none requiring schools to shut down, despite surging numbers by the week.
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