Freeburg High School to go fully remote after teacher tests positive for coronavirus
After initially deciding to stick with a hybrid learning plan, Freeburg Community High School District 77 has temporarily changed course after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19 Friday.
Superintendent Greg Frerking announced in a statement Friday the district’s new plan to go fully remote through Wednesday, Aug. 26, with students returning to a hybrid learning schedule of in-person and internet lessons on the next day.
“Due to the number of teachers unable to be at school for the quarantine period and the lack of substitutes, Freeburg Community High School will need to go fully remote,” Frerking said.
According to a the release, a teacher at Freeburg Community High School informed the district they had been in direct contact with a COVID-19 positive individual before the start of school. That teacher later tested positive for the virus.
Frerking said the teacher was not in direct contact with any students but did have direct contact with other teachers.
St. Clair County Health Department is performing contact tracing for any positive cases, Frerking said in the statement. Anyone who may be at risk of contracting the disease will be notified. Due to to HIPAA rules, the district said it cannot identify the teacher who tested positive or those who were exposed.
The health department is recommending those teachers who had contact with the teacher who tested positive quarantine for 14 days.
Freeburg announced its intention to stick with its hybrid learning plan last week, days after the health department recommended remote learning due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in St. Clair County. Almost all of the 27 district in St. Clair County plan to start the year remotely with plans to reevaluate later in the year.
Freeburg Consolidated District 70 and St. Libory 30, both feeder districts to Freeburg High School, are among the three districts that have opted to include some in-person instruction. The other is Dupo 196.
At a special meeting last week, Frerking recommended the board heed the health department’s recommendation. The split board voted in favor of the hybrid learning plan.
Previously, Frerking said around 30 students had requested fully remote learning, and fewer than five more had reached out after the board meeting. He anticipates the number will go up, but not significantly.