Jackson Elementary School Switches to Remote Learning After 2nd COVID-19 Exposure

Students at Jackson Elementary School in Greeley are switching to online-only learning on Tuesday (September 1) following the school's second COVID-19 exposure.

In a letter to parents, Superintendent Dr. Deirdre Pilch and Principal Ingrid Dillehay announced that someone in a fourth grade cohort tested positive for the virus on Saturday (August 29).

The 25 people who were in contact with the affected individual will quarantine for 14 days.

This marks the school's second COVID-19 exposure in one week. On Thursday (August 27), a presumptive positive test forced 19 people at the school to quarantine.

Due to the two exposures, Pilch and Dillehay have decided to move the entire school to remote learning for two weeks.

"This will allow time for students and staff to be away from each other and stop any further transmission of COVID-19. It will also allow for additional sanitizing and disinfecting at the school," said the pair in the letter. "We are very disappointed to pause in-person learning, but believe this is the best decision to continue ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff."

Kindergarten students will receive learning packets for the online period, while the rest of the student body will learn via school-issued Chromebooks.

Parents can still order meals for their children from the school district here. 

Jackson Elementary School is not first institution in the Greeley-Evans School District to struggle with COVID-19. 23 students and staff at Franklin Middle School have been quarantining since August 25 following the discovery of a presumptive positive test. 

Other schools in the district will continue in a hybrid format between in-person and online learning.