October 14, 2020 

Hello Cotopaxi Staff, Families and Community,

Greetings: Although hectic, it has been wonderful getting our staff and students back into the building. Changes and updates continue to occur weekly yet I cannot say how impressed I have been with our students and staff as they adapt and adjust to meet the ever-changing environment. Of course as parents, you have had to move right along with us and deserve our gratitude as well. Thank you for all your questions, comments and feedback throughout this process. Please be assured that we are working closely with our local and state entities on requirements and updates to ensure we are prepared, both now and in the future. 

COVID Guidelines: Following recommendations as posted through the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) toolkit, CDC, CDPHE and FDPHE guidelines; Nurse Debbie, the supervisory team and administration will continue to follow the COVID requirements for monitoring, reporting and contact tracing associated with illnesses or symptoms connected to our students, staff and/or families. As many of you may have experienced, Nurse Debbie makes daily contact with any family who is out sick, has questions, testing requirements or needs general assistance. We are here to help! We do have a tiered and layer approach to all requirements, recommendations, and considerations. At this point, we do not have any 'positive' cases within or connected to our district. Although we know based upon the data, it is only a matter of time. We have had, and will continue to have staff, students and families obtaining tests when possible major and minor symptoms arise or when required due to possible exposure situations. This is anticipated and expected. It is important to note and is highlighted, the symptoms cover a wide array of possibilities that can be and often are associated with other diagnoses. However if a ‘positive’ case is determined, we will work closely with Fremont Public Health and will communicate with our families information that can be shared. 

We wanted to reassure everyone that it is natural for your stress level and those around you to be elevated due to our current situation this year however please rest assured we are prepared to respond IF/WHEN we do receive a positive case. Nurse Debbie, the supervisory team and administration has been working collaboratively since before school began and we follow established regulations. We are also learning from those around us as they face similar scenarios. Our layers and tiered approach is making a strong difference. Although expected, our first case will still be a learning experience and throughout the process will continue to get stronger with each adjustment. We appreciate your patience, assistance and feedback as we maneuver these challenges. Although we have documents on our website to assist in understanding our processes and have letters/notification on hand to send when the situations warrants, we are working on a condensed version that may also be helpful. We will let you know once finalized and posted. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences: These are scheduled for next week; Wednesday, October 21 st and Thursday, October 22 nd beginning at 4:00 pm each evening. Due to the COVID restrictions, our parent/teacher conferences this semester and perhaps year, will look differently. Many of our conferences will be held remotely however some conferences may still be scheduled in- person. Mr. Eckelberry and both the elementary and secondary teachers have worked to develop a schedule to adhere to the guidelines yet meet the needs of our parents and families.  

  • Information should be posted and released this week.  

  • Also, please feel free to reach out to your child(ren) teacher as well with any questions COTOPAXI CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS P.O. Box 385 ~ 0345 County Road 12 Cotopaxi, CO 81223 Mrs. Danielle Van Esselstine - Superintendent Mr. Ken Eckelberry - Principal Fremont County School District RE-3 719-942-4131 Fax 719-942-4134 www.cotopaxire3.org 

“Conversation with the Superintendent” Town Hall/School-Community Connection: Please join me on Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:00 pm for special updates, current hot topics and an open forum structure for you to ask me or other …. questions. Each month the topic may be different yet it will be relevant to issues or content at hand. The meeting will be a town hall style meeting with an open forum for any questions you may have for me. We are seeking your input and feedback along with some positive discussions. I look forward to getting to know what is on your mind! To join the meeting, please click the Zoom link on the attached agenda.

COTOPAXI ‘S CONVERSATION WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AGENDA 

October 26, 2020 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm 

6:00 pm Welcome & Updates; Mrs. Van Esselstine, Superintendent 

6:15 pm Health Updates; Nurse Debbie 

6:30 pm Question & Answer 

**All times are approximate. Additional time will be allotted depending upon needs. 

Click Join Zoom Meeting below to be a part of the “Conversation with the Superintendent!” 

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7671... Meeting ID: 767 1862 3776 Password: sj4akC 

“Home of the Pirates!” 

Resources: Coming soon, we are currently working to develop a school application and updated communication tool called Apptegy. In December, please stay turned to a ‘live’ activation of a new site and tool. More information will be coming. However in the meantime, please continue to refer to our website and Facebook page as updates occur. Thank you for your time and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at dvanesselstine@cotopaxire3.org or keckelberry@cotopaxire3.org. We can also be reached on our office line at (719) 942-4131. Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on October 26 th at 6 pm to those that can attend the zoom meeting. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. 

Sincerely, Danielle Van Esselstine, Superintendent