Four schools in Wichita have confirmed COVID-19 cases, but case counts are unknown

Four schools in the largest district in Kansas have confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease less than four weeks before classes are scheduled to start.

Officials with the Wichita school district confirmed Thursday that cases of COVID-19 have been identified at Cessna Elementary School, Curtis Middle School, North High School and Sowers Alternative High School. The number of cases is unknown, said Terri Moses, the director of safety and environmental services for USD 259.

Cases are likely to continue to pop up in the school district, she said.

“It’s not if, it’s when, and this is a prime example of that,” Moses said. “Every time we brought more people back to work, we’ve seen more incidents of where people had to be tested because maybe they had a close contact at home. We’ve seen more incidences of isolation because maybe they traveled out of town. And now we’re seeing more incidences of positive COVID cases.

“We’re bringing more people together, and the science will tell you you’re going to have more cases because of that. What we’re emphasizing to everybody is if they follow our safety procedures, follow the procedures that we’ve been told by the CDC, wear a mask, do your best to social distance so you are not in close contact, follow the guidelines and if you’re feeling ill stay home. We want to reduce as much as possible that incidence of close contact.”

The confirmed coronavirus cases at local schools come weeks before students start class. The local school board pushed back the start of the school year due to the pandemic after the Kansas Board of Education rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order that delayed the start of school statewide.

The first day of school for Wichita students is Sept. 8, but teachers started with in-service activities Aug. 5.

Case counts are not accurate at this point, which is why the district is not releasing any numbers.

“We want to be very transparent and give you that information. ... That’s not something that we want to give out wrong,” Moses said.

School officials “absolutely” plan to release case counts in the future, she said.

The district also does not know how many staff members are in quarantine due to possible exposure to the virus. Moses said some quarantined staff members may still be able to work from home, but the district will need substitutes to be available. There are plans to have seating charts for student cohorts, as well as a visitor management system to track who goes into buildings.

When there are confirmed cases, the priority will be to notify close contacts, Moses said. School nurses and the Sedgwick County Health Department will determine who was a close contact. The district will also notify people at that person’s building that there was a positive test.

The district is monitoring school openings elsewhere, both inside and outside of Kansas, to see what works and what doesn’t. Best practices are “constantly changing,” Moses said.

“You can’t sit on your laurels and say the answer that we had yesterday is going to work tomorrow, because it may possibly change,” she said.

“This is a very complicated situation. Our ultimate goal is to provide the best education possible for our students here in Wichita. We have to do that safely.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 4:25 PM.