News & Events

Dear Shepherd Elementary School, This letter is to inform you that an individual who was last present at Shepherd on September 27 has since reported a positive test for coronavirus (COVID-19). The individual is no longer on campus and will not return until medically cleared. As determined by the DCPS Contact Tracing team, DC Health, and in accordance with the district’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance, unless you have received instructions directly, your student has not been identified as a close contact of the positive individual and does not need to be tested or self-quarantine. Persons for whom we know were in close contact with the positive individual were notified and provided guidance on next steps, including how any students impacted would receive instruction during quarantine. For your awareness, DC Health defines a close contact in a PK-12 setting as, “Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic infected people, two days prior to positive test collection) until the time the infected person is isolated.” Since DCPS has layered mitigation measures in place at our schools, students who were … Read More

Dear Shepherd Elementary School,   This letter is to inform you that two  individuals who were last present at Shepherd on September 23 have since reported a positive test for coronavirus (COVID-19). The individuals are no longer on campus and will not return until medically cleared.   As determined by the DCPS Contact Tracing team, DC Health, and in accordance with the district’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance, unless you have received instructions directly, your student has not been identified as a close contact of the positive individual and does not need to be tested or self-quarantine.  Persons for whom we know were in close contact with the positive individual were notified and provided guidance on next steps, including how any students impacted would receive instruction during quarantine.   For your awareness, DC Health defines a close contact in a PK-12 setting as, “Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic infected people, two days prior to positive test collection) until the time the infected person is isolated.”  Since DCPS has layered mitigation measures in place at our schools, students who were in a classroom and  within 3 to 6 feet of another student who reported a positive test such that all were engaged in consistent and … Read More

Dear Shepherd Elementary School, This letter is to inform you that an individual who was last present at Shepherd on September 17 has since reported a positive test for coronavirus (COVID-19). The individual is no longer on campus and will not return until medically cleared. As determined by the DCPS Contact Tracing team, DC Health, and in accordance with the district’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance, unless you have received instructions directly, your student has not been identified as a close contact of the positive individual and does not need to be tested or self-quarantine. Persons for whom we know were in close contact with the positive individual were notified and provided guidance on next steps, including how any students impacted would receive instruction during quarantine. For your awareness, DC Health defines a close contact in a PK-12 setting as, “Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic infected people, two days prior to positive test collection) until the time the infected person is isolated.” Since DCPS has layered mitigation measures in place at our schools, students who were … Read More

Dear Shepherd Elementary School, This letter is to inform you that an individual who was last present at Shepherd on September 17 has since reported a positive test for coronavirus (COVID-19). The individual is no longer on campus and will not return until medically cleared. As determined by the DCPS Contact Tracing team, DC Health, and in accordance with the district’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance, unless you have received instructions directly, your student has not been identified as a close contact of the positive individual and does not need to be tested or self-quarantine. Persons for whom we know were in close contact with the positive individual were notified and provided guidance on next steps, including how any students impacted would receive instruction during quarantine. For your awareness, DC Health defines a close contact in a PK-12 setting as, “Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or for asymptomatic infected people, two days prior to positive test collection) until the time the infected person is isolated.” Since DCPS has layered mitigation measures in place at our schools, students who were … Read More

Dear Shepherd Elementary Parents and Families, At Shepherd, we highly value and are committed to fostering a learning environment where students are safe and secure. A large part of that commitment is communicating potential safety issues with parents when they arise.   Earlier this morning, a power outage was reported in parts of our building. To keep students and staff safe as they arrived, we had students remain outside on the playground and field areas of our campus. Students always remained supervised and safe while outside. The Department of General Services (DGS) and Pepco arrived and shortly before 11:00 a.m. the power was restored.  At this time, normal building operations are in progress and students have made their way to classrooms where instruction will continue as usual for the remainder of the day.   l apologize for the disruption in your students’ learning schedule, but the safety of our students and families remains paramount for us all. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email at phyllis.hedlund@k12.dc.gov.    Sincerely, Principal Hedlund