UPDATE– Local Schools Make Tough Choices to Protect Staff, Students

  • At Peak to Peak Charter School Tuesday, all the teachers were there to help students with drive-thru covid-19 tests. Jane Clark, 12 (of Eric Blakely’s 7th grade class) is instructed by J.C. Moore to use a swab to self-test. Mom Alicia Randolph gave support.

    At Peak to Peak Charter School Tuesday, all the teachers were there to help students with drive-thru covid-19 tests. Jane Clark, 12 (of Eric Blakely’s 7th grade class) is instructed by J.C. Moore to use a swab to self-test. Mom Alicia Randolph gave support.

UPDATE—FRAZIER PARK, CA (Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 )—Frazier Park School is hosting a vaccination clinic for students, families and anyone in the Mountain Community THURSDAY, Jan. 20 until noon. Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are both available for first, second or booster shots for ages 5 and up. Please go on over to the school today and grab the jab. It doesn’t hurt. But it may save your life.
UPDATE: (JANUARY 18, 2022, Pine Mountain Club)— A new robocall went out to parents of Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School again Monday night, Jan. 17, to inform them that a covid-19 exposure had occurred on campus, in two classrooms: Grades 1-2-3 and 7-8. 
—Those two classrooms will return to virtual learning until Friday, Jan. 21.
—Peak to Peak will again set up on-site drive-through rapid testing for students in those grades to test on Thursday, Jan. 20, 8:30–11 a.m.
—All students testing negative will be able to return to in-person learning Friday morning.
—”I know that this is a little different than other schools,” said office manager Karin Wilsson, “but the route we have chosen is the best way for our kids to not experience a huge learning loss. If we are consistent with the way the class as a whole is learning then we feel confident that no one will get left behind.”

By Patric Hedlund, TME

(January 13, 2022)—Ten Peak to Peak (P2P) Charter School students last week were reported to have been exposed to family members who had tested positive for covid-19.

Principal Jeffrey Fenske asked P2P parents to return to virtual learning last Wednesday through Tuesday, Jan. 11. The school received a grant for rapid antigen tests for their students.

Drive-Thru Test at P2P

“A no-cost, drive-thru rapid testing site” was set up on campus Monday and Tuesday this week, P2P’s office manager Karin Wilsson said.

This reporter saw a cheerful, encouraging and efficient operation, in which older students could take their own nasal swabs and younger students were assisted.

Principal Fenske reports the first 21 students all had negative tests, leaving 23 more students to be tested Tuesday afternoon. Students who tested negative returned to in-person classes on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Other Schools Open

In other local schools, Gorman Elementary and El Tejon Unified School District (ETUSD)—including Frazier Park Elementary, El Tejon Middle School and Frazier Mountain High School—all resumed in-person classes this week.

ETUSD Gives Out Tests

As the Omicron variant surges across the nation, ETUSD made test kits available to all students whose families want them.

Hospitalizations Highest

This week, on Tuesday Jan. 11, hospitalizations in the United States reached the highest numbers in all the covid-19 pandemic.

The Kern County Public Health Department reported 1,143 new covid-19 cases on Monday, to bring the county’s totals to 175,585 positive cases and 1,936 deaths from covid-19. They have reported over 600 cases in the Mountain Communities. Ages 18-49 make up more than 71% of those infected in Kern County. About 29,000 children, from infants to age 17, have tested positive.

Vaccinated children and adults who do not have underlying illnesses, but become infected with the Omicron variant, may find symptoms fairly mild. All ages over 5 years are now eligible for free vaccinations and boosters in America.

For those who are unvaccinated, whether adults or children, the virus can lead to hospitalization and more severe illness. Several Mountain Community residents have died. Variants in addition to Alpha, Delta and Omicron have been detected in Kern County.

More children are now hospitalized for covid-19 than at any time earlier in the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week.

The rate spikes in Los Angeles and Kern Counties do not reflect the full picture of the spread, because the at-home quick-test results are not reflected in case numbers from medical facilities or added to official statistics.

Photo captions:

At Peak to Peak Charter School Tuesday, all the teachers were there to help students. Jane Clark, 12 (of Eric Blakely’s 7th grade class) is instructed by J.C. Moore to use a swab to self-test. (Not shown) Mom Alicia Randoph gave support as son Draven, 5 (in Pre-K), squeezed his eyes shut and Mr. Blakely took a test sample.

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This is part of the January 14, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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Caption to photos: At Peak to Peak Charter School Tuesday, all the teachers were there to help students. Jane Clark, 12 (of Mr. Eric Blakely’s 7th grade class) is instructed by J.C. Moore to use a swab to self-test. (Not shown) Mom Alicia Randolph gave support as son Draven, 5 (in Pre-K), squeezed his eyes shut and Mr. Blakely took a test sample.

This is part of the January 14, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.