HARRISBURG, Pa. — Editor's Note: The above video is from Oct. 6.
An elementary school in the Central Dauphin School District is switching to a remote learning model for a week after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
South Side Elementary School students from Kindergarten through 4th Grade will be learning remotely through Tuesday, Oct. 20, principal Jeff Beeman said in a letter to parents and guardians Monday.
Fifth-grade students will continue to report to CD Middle School for in-person learning, Beeman said.
The decision to switch to remote learning was made Saturday, after the school district was notified that a staff member at South Side tested positive for the virus, Beeman said. The exposure likely occurred at an event outside the school, he added.
The individual was last in the building at South Side on Oct. 6.
Those who have come in close contact with the staff member have been notified directly, Beeman said.
"We have determined that, prior to exhibiting symptoms, this individual had close contact with a limited number of students at South Side," he said. "The individual also had close contact with staff members in that building, including members of the administrative staff in the school. In total, 10 staff members at South Side have been affected.
Adults and students who were specifically identified as having close contact with this staff member are being personally notified. If you have not received a personal notification, then we have no present basis to conclude that your student was in close contact as defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Health."
The school district has cleaned and sanitized any shared common spaces or equipment the individual used, Beeman said.
"While temporarily moving South Side students to remote learning certainly is not our preferred outcome, the District has no alternative," he added. "Pursuant to the Department of Health guidelines and the advice of the District physician, the COVID-19 positive individual’s close contacts with staff members at South Side will require 10 staff members, including administrators at that school, to quarantine.
"South Side’s administrative staff plays a critical role in the operation of the school, including leading the critical functions of scheduling, student discipline, assisting staff and coordinating arrival and dismissal. The loss of in-person work from the members of that administrative staff essentially prevents the school from offering in-person instruction.
"We are very disappointed that South Side will not be joining our other elementary schools that are returning to full time in-person instruction on October 13, 2020, and regret the inconvenience caused by this unpredictable situation. However, the District simply cannot offer South Side students with in-person classes given the unique circumstances we are now facing."
Parents and guardians should continue to monitor their children for symptoms of COVID-19 in accordance with the Central Dauphin School District’s daily self-screening process, Beeman said.
Students who are not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, may return to in-person learning on October 21.