CAES classroom quarantines after Covid exposure Ludlow Elementary classroom follows suit

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC

A second-grade classroom at Chester-Andover Elementary School is meeting remotely today  because the administration learned early Friday morning that the students and teacher had come in contact with a “member of the school community” who had tested positive for coronavirus, according to Two Rivers Superintendent Lauren Fierman.

This type of situation is happening in schools around the country.

Parents were notified on Friday that their children would need to quarantine at home for 14 days from the date of the contact or seven days from the contact with a negative Covid-19 test, Fierman told The Telegraph. In an email sent to families and school employees, Fierman said that the last contact with the person testing positive was Tuesday Sept. 14.

The students are receiving remote instruction from their regular teacher, according to Fierman. CAES Principal Katherine Fogg said that the devices the students have to work remotely are the same ones they use in school so the children are familiar with them.

Fierman said that in the event that some students return after seven days with a negative test while others remained at home, the teacher would concentrate on the in-person instruction, while supporting those students at home. She noted that the mix of remote and in-person learning in the same classroom has not been particularly effective in the past.

On Monday, both Fierman and Fogg said that as far as they knew all of those quarantining were asymptomatic.

Similar situation in Ludlow

In an interview on Monday morning, Fierman said there was a situation developing at Ludlow Elementary similar to that at CAES. In an email to staff and families, Fierman said that a classroom would be going into quarantine due to contact with someone who tested positive. That contact was on Friday Sept. 17.

In both cases, the families of students who are considered close contacts with those who tested positive “have been contacted by the school nurse with instructions on quarantining and related health protocols.”