Notice Letter to the Parents and Staff
November 17, 2020
Dear Parents and Staff,
In keeping with Santa Maria ISD’s practices to respond to COVID-19, we are notifying all student families and
staff that a non-instructional staff member from TGE School was lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 on Tuesday,
November 17, 2020 and was present this morning at TGE School. Due to privacy requirements, we will not be
releasing the name of the individual or details that may identify him or her.
Santa Maria ISD is working closely with the Cameron County Health Department on this matter. Cameron
County Health Department along with SMISD nurse, Candy Kafka, have begun a case investigation and will
continue to contact any individuals determined to be in close contact with the affected TGE staff member. Any
student and staff member that came into close contact with any of the affected individual will be directly
contacted by Cameron County Health Department. Those that were in close contact will remain off campus for
up to 14 days to ensure they do not have the virus, so that there will not be any further spread.
We also ask that you, as always, watch for symptoms of COVID-19.
Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:
o Temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth;
o Sore throat;
o New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (or, for students with a chronic
allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline);
o Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain; or
o New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever
If you begin experiencing any of these symptoms in a way that is not typical, we encourage you to contact
your physician. We encourage anyone in the Santa Maria ISD community who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-
19 to please notify our school by contacting Ms. Candy Kafka, SMISD nurse, at
(956) 566-5348 or email her at candykafka@smisd.net .
Sincerely,
Martin Cuellar
Superintendent of Schools
Letter in PDF and Spanish option-click the links below.