Mountain Vista High School was transitioned to remote learning for two weeks after two new COVID-19 cases were confirmed at the school, forcing the quarantines of “many staff and students.”

A letter sent to the school community on Sept. 21 said the school had learned of “two additional people” that tested positive. More than two dozen staff members at the Highlands Ranch school had been quarantined, the letter from the school district's Health, Wellness and Prevention Team said.

“The number of positive COVID-19 cases in our school, resulting in quarantines involving many staff and students, has led us to the decision to transition all learning at MVHS to virtual learning for the next two weeks,” the letter said.

The school planned to begin full virtual on Sept. 22. Students and staff are expected to return to in-person learning on or after Oct. 5, depending on their cohort schedule. Athletics would continue as usual and following CHSAA guidelines.

Although substitute teachers “do an incredible job stepping in when needed,” the letter said that “resource pool” is limited. Providing a high-quality education would be difficult with so many teachers quarantined and substitutes sparse, the letter said.

It was not immediately known how many total COVID-19 cases had been confirmed at the school, how many total people were asked to quarantine and how many students were being transitioned from hybrid to full virtual learning.

A school district spokeswoman said she was working to provide that information. The district had not responded to Colorado Community Media's interview requests with the Mountain Vista High School principal, nor with Legend High School, another community impacted by large quarantines during the pandemic.