RISD quarantines fourth grade at intermediate school

RISD officials decided to quarantine the 4th-grade at Rockdale Intermediate School for the next 10 days.

"While I understand that sounds alarming, I wanted to let you know why we made this decision. The district has created a COVID alert levels chart with green, yellow, orange and red levels. This chart is based on CDC recommended thresholds in schools. Once a school, classroom or grade level reaches the red level of active cases, we believe closing for a few days is the safest option for students and staff. While allowing time to slow the spread, it also gives us time to deep clean the 4th-grade classrooms," wrote RISD Superintendent Denise Monzingo in a letter sent out to parents Friday.

Each new positive case at all grade levels is monitored daily. As of Friday no other classrooms or grade levels have reached level red.

She asked that parents continue to monitor children for any symptoms, most of the positive cases are presenting with cold or allergy type symptoms. Some have fever, some don’t.

"We suggest that if any of these symptoms are present, you have your child tested. We have tests available at all campuses and will be offering a vaccine clinic on September 16. Watch for information on this clinic to come out next week. The district strongly encourages mask use, sanitizing and social distancing. We all need to be diligent about not spreading this virus to others. Always know you can reach out at any time with questions," she wrote.