After the first four weeks of in-person learning across Jeffco Public Schools, 51 schools of the district's 155 schools have had at least one confirmed COVID-19 case among either a student or staffer.

That information is according to the district's new COVID-19 informational dashboard (Sept. 27), available on the district website. District spokesperson Cameron Bell said that Jeffco's Health Services Department was working closely with the county's public health department and school administrators to confirm positive virus cases, and determining when quarantines are appropriate.

"We are working diligently to contact the appropriate people of any positive case," Bell said. She added that the dashboard was assembled by the district to give parents one more source of trusted information, during the pandemic.

The dashboard is searchable by school, and articulation area. It also indicates how many test-positive individuals are also now cleared to exit quarantine.

Not all positive cases trigger schoolwide notifications, or school quarantines, according to Bell.

"We've had staffers or students who are remote-only test positive for instance," she said.

Also, the district had several confirmed cases before in-person learning began on Sept. 8.

There have been enough cases in at least two school locations to lead to school-wide quarantines though. Jefferson High has seen four positive cases, three of which are still active, leading that school to go remote-only through Sept. 28. Deane Elementary saw an outbreak of 13 confirmed cases, leading that school to go remote-only early in the month, lasting until Sept. 22.

A confirmed case of a staff employee at a bus barn also forced the district to cancel bus services to several mountain area schools for two weeks.

Most affected schools have only one or two confirmed cases so far, resulting in limited school body quarantines.

Bell said the district will continue to do what it can to keep schools open, while maintaining safety measures to minimize COVID-19 spread among the district's 84,500 students.

"We know most parents want their children in school," Bell said, citing a district survey that found 70% of district parents who responded said they wanted in-person learning.

Roughly 20% of the district's students have opted for remote learning this semester. About 25% of the district's staff has also chosen to work remotely.

Bell said that as of Sept. 25, she was not aware of any district student or staffer who had died of COVID-19