Dear Parent/Guardian,
In keeping with Columbus ISD’s practices to respond to COVID-19, we are notifying all student families, staff and the community that a staff member who was lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 was present on the Columbus Elementary School campus on October 8, 2020. Due to privacy requirements, we will not be releasing the name of the individual or details identifying him or her.
Contacting tracing has begun. If it is determined the COVID-positive person had any contact with students or staff, the identified students and staff will be directly notified no later than October 12, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. Those in close contact will remain off campus for up to 14 days to ensure they do not have the virus and to ensure that there will be no further spread. We will keep you apprised of further updates. Operations at Columbus Elementary School will continue as usual, and we will keep you apprised of further updates.
Any areas accessed by the COVID-positive person will be cleaned and disinfected according to CDC and TEA guidelines.
While we believe you have no reason to be concerned at this time, we ask that you, as always, to watch for symptoms of COVID-19.
Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:
• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
• Loss of taste or smell
• Cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Fatigue, headache, or chills
• Sore throat, congestion, or runny nose
• Shaking or exaggerated shivering or significant muscle pain or ache
• Diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting
If you or any member of the Columbus Elementary School community does begin experiencing any of these symptoms in a way that is not typical, we encourage you to contact your physician. We encourage anyone in the Columbus Elementary School community who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 to please notify our school by contacting us at 979-732-2078.
Your partner in education, Columbus Elementary School Columbus Independent School District

Hi Everyone,

 

Monday will be the start of the 2nd 6 weeks and we will increase enrollment by about 300 students. I am excited to see the kids back and hope and pray that we will soon have all of our students back to a safe environment. I have heard from some of you concerning the lifting of the mask order in Colorado County. I want to let you know that schools are a separate entity from businesses, and we have been directed to follow TEA guidelines.

 

On Friday morning, I was on a District Executive Committee meeting with Matt Schobel concerning an outbreak of COVID-19 at a district school. It seems to have resulted in a forfeit of a district football game, which is extremely unfortunate. Last night over 20 high football games were cancelled because of campus outbreaks. Klein Oak High School had 22 positive cases amongst their football and volleyball teams and have cancelled their games this weekend.

 

I spent Friday afternoon watching our Lady Cards win their seventh district game, and our Cardinal football team open their district season with a big win! I watched the Cardinal Band and Belles perform on senior night to a packed stadium and proud parents. I watched our cheerleaders pump up our crowd and perform an amazing amount of push-ups to signify a Cardinal score. I saw fans having a joyful release of energy that has been stifled since March.

 

I cannot risk not having these moments that make our community and our kids joyful and safe. I cannot risk the chances of our senior athletes and students to miss out on any games, plays, concerts, homecoming festivities, competitions and any extracurricular event. I became a teacher 41 years ago because I could not find anything in life more fulfilling than the joy of a child. I know many of you share the same back story.

 

I have met with the Colorado County superintendents and we all feel the same way about our kids and our teachers. We all want to guarantee that all our kids have the full complement of in-school experiences that we all fondly remember. We all want our teachers and staff to feel safe when they are asked to come to work. We all want our parents to feel safe to send their children to us knowing that we are doing everything possible to keep them safe.

 

I know first-hand that masks make a difference in the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. As I told everyone this summer, I will listen to science, and let experts in the field of infectious disease guide our practices. We will still require masks to enter all facilities, we will require masks in the hallways and common areas, and we will allow social distancing protocols to determine the removal of masks in classrooms, and other district operated facilities.

 

Wearing a mask is a small sacrifice to make to ensure safety for all. 

 

Thank you for all you do,

 

Jim Connor

Superintendent

Columbus ISD

979-732-5704 

Notification of Confirmed COVID-19 Case at Columbus High School:

Dear Parent/Guardian,

In keeping with Columbus ISD’s practices to respond to COVID-19, we are notifying all student families, staff and the community that a staff member who was lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 was present on the Columbus High School campus on September 18, 2020. Due to privacy requirements, we will not be releasing the name of the individual or details identifying him or her.

Contact tracing has begun. If it is determined the COVID-positive person had any contact with students or staff, the identified students and staff will be directly notified no later than September 21, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. Those in close contact will remain off campus for up to 14 days to ensure they do not have the virus and to ensure that there will be no further spread.  Operations at Columbus High School will continue as usual, and we will keep you apprised of further updates.

Any areas accessed by the COVID-positive person will be cleaned and disinfected according to CDC and TEA guidelines.

While we believe you have no reason to be concerned at this time, we ask that you, as always, to watch for symptoms of COVID-19.

Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:

• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
• Loss of taste or smell
• Cough, Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Fatigue, Headache, Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Chills, Shaking or exaggerated shivering
• Significant muscle pain or ache
• Diarrhea, Nausea, or vomiting

If you or any member of the Columbus High School community does begin experiencing any of these symptoms in a way that is not typical, we encourage you to contact your physician. We encourage anyone in the Columbus High School community who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 to please notify our school by contacting us at 979-732-5746.