I am writing to inform you that we received notification today that another individual member of the Shawsheen community has tested positive for COVID-19. This is the fourth positive COVID test involving either a Shawsheen staff member or student this fall, with our first case being announced on October 30th.
As we do in any case involving a positive case from either a student or staff member, we follow all Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) protocols, and consult and collaborate with the applicable local board(s) of health.
We have conducted thorough contact tracing in compliance with all of these protocols and have identified the student(s) and staff member(s) who are considered to be a close contact (defined as being within 6 feet of the person for at least 15 minutes in one 24-hour period) of this individual during the period when he/she could transmit the virus to another person. All identified close contacts are being informed of their status and ordered to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days from the time when close contact occurred.
Unfortunately, essentially all of Shawsheen’s building and district administrative teams have been identified as close contacts, including myself, which will require our absence from the building for the next two weeks.
While I am well-aware that administrators are not providing instruction to our students, they are an essential element in maintaining building safety and security.
As important as in-person learning is, I have concluded that we can NOT safely open Shawsheen to students for the next two weeks. All students will be 100% remote during that time.
In order to provide staff adequate time to prepare for this shift, there will be NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS on Monday, November 9th. Staff will report to work at Shawsheen on Monday and participate in a Professional Development Day.
ALL students will shift to 100% remote instruction on Tuesday, November 10th, and should connect with their assigned classroom teacher at 7:50 am. Our current plan calls for 100% remote instruction to continue through the end of the day, Friday, November 20th.
I regret having to take this extraordinary action, but ultimately the safety of our students must drive this decision.
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