PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NEWS

Eldorado High School in Albuquerque will return to remote-only instruction for two weeks after reaching the state’s conservative threshold for COVID-19 spread, the Public Education Department announced today.

The school, which serves about 1,800 students on Albuquerque’s east side, is the first public school in New Mexico to have four Rapid Responses in 14 days, the threshold that triggers a temporary return to remote-only instruction. 

Eldorado High had Rapid Responses on March 29, April 2, April 6 and April 10.

Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Scott Elder and Eldorado High Principal Martin Sandoval were notified by email that the school has seven calendar days in which to begin the mandatory 14-day closure. Sandoval said the school will close beginning Tuesday. 

A Rapid Response is a series of interventions designed to prevent COVID-19 spread, beginning when the New Mexico Department of Health notifies a school that an employee or student has a confirmed positive case and was on campus/in the facility during the infectious period. 

A school or business with two Rapid Responses in 14 days goes on the Environment Department’s Rapid Response Watchlist. Those that reach four Rapid Responses in the same time frame go on the department’s Closure List.

Only the individual school that reaches the four-in-14 threshold is required to return to remote learning. Other schools in the district are not impacted.

The school is required to cease in-person student services, with the exception of small groups, adhering to the 5:1 ratio in the Public Education Department’s re-entry guidance. 

The school was also advised to identify and notify all close contacts immediately to identify any related cases and stop the virus from spreading further.