SOUTH HADLEY — Local public schools will return to remote learning indefinitely “due to the high number of district staff needing to quarantine,” interim Superintendent Diana Bonneville announced last Saturday.
The directive goes into effect immediately, Bonneville wrote in an email to the school community. The school was not capable of maintaining its staffing across three buildings, according to Bonneville.
“If one in-person individual tests positive, a chain reaction occurs, impacting our ability to properly staff classrooms,” Bonneville wrote.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, but our students’ and staff health and safety is our top priority,” she added. School buildings will remain open during this remote learning period.
Bonneville did not say how many staff members are quarantining, or how many COVID-19 cases have been recorded within the school community. She did not respond to a request for more information on Sunday.
Last month, Mosier Elementary School shifted to remote learning for two days after a member of the school community tested positive for COVID-19 in the first week of in-person learning, which was only available to a cohort comprising the youngest and highest-need students. School officials ordered a deep cleaning of the building during this closure and directed students and staff in the affected class to quarantine for two weeks.
Prior to Bonneville’s announcement over the weekend, a second cohort of students consisting of kindergartners and students from families with critical child-care needs was set to return to the building on Monday. This cohort had originally been scheduled to return to in-person learning on Nov. 30, but the School Committee voted to push the date back in response to rising COVID-19 cases locally and statewide. The committee had previously voted for the general student population to return on a hybrid basis in January.
The School Committee will discuss further steps at its next meeting on Jan. 4.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.