Student COVID cases in separate classrooms at Fresno charter school that just reopened

A Fresno charter school is reporting two cases of COVID-19 among its students a little more than one week after reopening for in-person learning.

The executive director of Aspen Public Schools confirmed the situation in a statement to The Bee on Friday afternoon.

“Aspen Public Schools team worked tirelessly to prepare to welcome students back in person. The joy of having students and teachers on campus was palpable.”

“Unfortunately, we have had two unrelated, positive COVID cases in two separate classes at one of our schools,” Shelly Lether said in the statement.

Aspen Valley Preparatory Academy was notified of the positive tests and immediately reached out to Fresno County Department of Public Health. The school has “carefully followed their most current guidance to ensure the safety of every student and staff member,” Lether said in the statement.

“We will continue to be vigilant about both safety and quality academic access for every child.”

It is unclear what the county’s guidance entails, but a 14-page COVID-19 Prevention Program posted on the school’s website says “families and staff will receive notification if there is a known positive case that occurs at their school site.”

Administrators will “quarantine and exclude exposed contacts (likely the entire cohort) for 10 days after the last date the case was present at school while infectious.”

School work will be provided to students during that time.

Disinfection and deep cleaning of classroom and primary spaces will be conducted, though the school may remain open in consultation with public health officials, according to the document.

News of the cases spread among parents and family member on social media Friday afternoon. One poster, identified as the grandparent of an Aspen Valley Prep student, said the case was in her granddaughter’s class and that students were sent home.

The school used the cases as an opportunity to remind the community of its role in returning students to school safely.

“For the sake of the learning and growth of our students and all of Fresno’s students we implore every eligible person get vaccinated,” Lether wrote.

Aspen Valley Prep Academy was authorized by Fresno Unified School District in 2004 and serves “at-risk” children in central Fresno. Enrollment is “predominantly socioeconomically disadvantaged students, including foster and homeless youth and those living in severe poverty,” according to its charter petition.

U.S. News and World Report has minority enrollment among the school’s 427 kindergaren through eighth-grade students at 86%.

Aspen Valley Prep is part of the larger Aspen Public Schools, which recently opened Aspen Ridge in Fresno for seventh through ninth grades.