Mascoutah High School delays teacher return because of positive coronavirus case
Mascoutah High School teachers were set to return to campus to begin virtual instruction Monday, but the plan was put on hold after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
Seven other staffers at the school were exposed, said Mascoutah School District 19 Assistant Superintendent Cindy Presnell. Those individuals have been notified and advised to quarantine at home for two weeks.
Teachers instructed classes remotely on Monday.
After learning of the positive case, school officials closed the building to perform a deep clean and conduct contact tracing. The building will reopen Tuesday and staff will go back to work on campus. No visitors to the school were exposed, Presnell added.
The school posted an update on its website Sunday.
“We want to be as transparent as possible,” Presnell said.
Those scheduled to pick up school materials on Monday were instructed to wait until Tuesday to do so.
The district changed plans for in-person learning in early August, opting instead to start the school year remotely. The updated plan has four phases:
- Phase 1: Remote instruction with in-person instructional opportunities for students with the most significant needs based on their individualized education plans within each of the elementary schools as well as students with specific individualized programming needs at our middle and high schools.
- Phase 2: When the COVID-19 spread in St. Clair County has trended down for two weeks or more, add additional in-person instruction for small groups of 10 or less to attend in-person for hands-on classes (e.g., shop, foods, science labs) and performance classes (e.g., band, choir). Priority will be given to students in grades K-3.
- Phase 3: Continued steady or low infection rates will allow for additional in-person instruction. The phase will be planned out using the hybrid model as the basis of scheduling additional more in-person instruction.
- Phase 4: Continue to introduce more students into the building with some form of hybrid instruction and increased student and staff interaction in the buildings after four to six weeks without increased infections. A full in-person model would be the goal.
Southwestern Illinois reported 172 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, including two new deaths in St. Clair and Randolph counties.
