Update on the status of Sheridan County School District 2

In a press release from Sheridan County School District No. 2, officials announce the district is making changes to safety protocols at elementary schools based on new quarantine guidelines from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Department of Health.

“The Wyoming Department of Health is changing our quarantine protocols for K-12 school settings. Specifically, we no longer recommend quarantine if a potential exposure occurs while both the infectious individual and the close contacts are wearing face coverings.” State Health Official Dr. Alexia Harrist said.

“Data collected in Sheridan schools was used to help guide changes to the protocols,” Sheridan County Public Health Officer Dr. Ian Hunter said. “We have had zero spread among masked students in our schools, and the state took this trend seriously. After looking statewide, they saw similar results and therefore changed the quarantine protocols.”

“Moving forward, we will require that students and staff at our elementary schools wear masks throughout the day,” Craig Dougherty, SCSD2 superintendent of schools said. “This will drastically reduce quarantines for classmates of positive cases and also keep kids safer in our classrooms. We want kids physically in school where they learn best and where teachers do their best work. We also want working parents to keep our economy moving, not be forced to stay home with quarantined kids.”

Over the last several weeks, numerous SCSD2 students have experienced quarantines after being identified as close contacts with a positive case. The new directives from the WDH mean that as long as all students are wearing masks, close contacts will not be quarantined if a classmate tests positive.

“Our students are not struggling with masks,” Highland Park Elementary Principal Scott Cleland said. “They want to be in school and take care of each other. Moving to full day masks should not be a problem for our kids.”

“Masks have not been a problem for students at the junior high school. In fact, with nearly 900 students, we have only documented two behavior incidents related to masks in the first five weeks of school,” Sheridan Junior High School principal Rebecca Adsit said.

Students already wear masks all day at SJHS, Sheridan High School and John C. Schiffer Collaborative School.

The changes instituted by the WDH have also ended the quarantines of many students at Sheridan High School approximately one week early, all because they were wearing masks during school when in contact with a positive case.

Details on the new WDH quarantine protocols can be found here.

Current SCSD2 Status 

SCSD2 continues to respond successfully to cases of COVID-19. The district’s safety protocols and collaboration with Sheridan County Public Health have yielded more encouraging results as the district finishes week five.

Between the first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and Thursday, Sept. 24, a total of seven students have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, four have recovered and returned to school. With current enrollment of 3,554 students, total positive cases constitute 0.197% of the student population. All positive student cases originated outside of school.

“We have added another week with no evidence of transmission within SCSD2 schools,” Debra Haar, Sheridan County Public Health Nurse Manager said. “We continue to collaborate with school principals and nurses to implement safety protocols, and these measures continue to prevent spread.”

Voluntary COVID-19 Testing Public Health and local pediatricians advise parents to avoid rapid or antibody tests when choosing to have their children tested for COVID-19. Instead, parents should request PCR tests, which are available at local pediatric offices and Urgent Care. Per direction from Public Health, SCSD2 schools will not accept results from a rapid or antibody test.

Home Screening SCSD2 requires that students and staff screen for COVID-19 symptoms each day before coming to school.

Click here for information on COVID-19 home screening.

COVID-19 Best Practices 

The public is encouraged to follow these guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Wyoming Department of Health:

● Avoid close contact (within 6 feet) with anyone outside of your household.

● Wear cloth face coverings when out in the public.

● Stay home if sick. If you are concerned that the symptoms you are experiencing are outside of your normal everyday condition, please consult your physician.

● Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

● Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.