Boarding school has 31 cases of COVID-19

Queen Creek academy serves at-risk youth

Nearly two dozen students and eight staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at Canyon State Academy, a boarding school for at-risk youth in Queen Creek.

Lynea Hansen, a spokeswoman for the academy, wrote in an email that the 23 students and eight staff members tested positive over the past week.

“Based on the positive tests, contact tracing protocols have been initiated and all identified individuals have been informed and isolated,” she wrote.

This is not the first residential center for teens where students have tested positive. At Mingus Mountain Academy near Prescott Valley in May, more than 40 teens tested positive for the virus. All of the teens have since recovered, according to a Yavapai County health official.

Hansen wrote that Canyon State “diligently followed best practices” and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the past four months.

“These efforts included enhanced hygiene, sanitization, social distancing practices, use of masks and limiting community interaction as well as comprehensive site-based screening and admission practices,” she wrote.

According to state data, the ZIP code where Canyon State Academy is located has seen 372 cases total.

Canyon State is operated by Rite of Passage, a national provider of programs for youth. The academy was once called Arizona Boys Ranch, but the name changed after the death of Nicholaus Contreraz, a 16-year-old boy who collapsed while being punished in May 1998.