Los Alamos Reporter

LAHS Principal Carter Payne Notifies Students, Parents And Staff Of Positive COVID Cases At LAHS/TFA

BY CARTER PAYNE
Principal
Los Alamos High School

I am writing to let you know that we were informed today of 22 positive COVID cases among the students, and 3 positive cases among staff. In most cases, the students and staff were last on campus Friday, January 7, 2022. 

Note:  This brings the case total for our school to 45 cases since the start of school.  With a school population (students and adults) of 1340 people, we are at 3.4% within a rolling 14 day period, which meets the threshold for requiring expanded COVID-safe practices under Public Education Department Rules.  A few examples include limiting spectators at competitions and events, limiting access to lockers, staggering release times from classes to reduce the number of students in the halls, etc.

This letter is to inform you about the next steps necessary to protect your child and our community from COVID-19.  Part of our protocol is to perform internal contact tracing and determine close contacts.  A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6 ft of a confirmed positive case for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. For more specific information about the process for determining close contacts, see the NM Public Education Department Covid-19 Toolkit (p.4).  

With the number of cases today, we are still in the process of conducting contact tracing and contacting potential close contacts.  We are reaching out to the students in this group and their parents to notify them directly, and to inform them of the requirements for a 10 day quarantine period.  We are in the process of answering their questions and calls.

Fully vaccinated students or staff who are Close Contacts but don’t show any COVID symptoms are exempt from quarantine. 

If your student comes down with symptoms of fever of 100.3 degrees or higher, headache, cough or any other symptoms of COVID, please contact your medical provider immediately.  They can test for several illnesses including strep, COVID, and more depending on the symptoms. Please keep your child home from school if they become sick for any reason and notify our absence line at lahsattendance@laschools.net.  

LAPS has rapid antigen testing available for students and staff who are showing COVID symptoms at the District office (2075 Trinity Drive, Suite S) from 8-12 on Monday – Friday. This daily window has been extended through February.  You can pre-register using a cell phone at  https://pmg.app.perseus.id/div/laps.  Upon registration, you will get a QR code that the testing provider will scan when you arrive.  Results are sent via text message within an hour of testing.  LA County has multiple options for PCR Testing listed on their Covid Testing Page.

If you need to report a COVID positive student, potential COVID exposure, or student illness, please contact our School Nurse, Leann Hick at l.hick@laschools.net or 505-663-2530.

We are committed to keeping our school community safe and well-informed by communicating facts directly with you as quickly as possible.  Please contact me if you have any questions at (505) 663-2513 or j.payne@laschools.net.

Covid Quick Links