Students at La Center High School are back to learning from home for the next week as the district reported a COVID-19 outbreak could have exposed more than 160 people.
The district announced on its website and Facebook page Thursday, May 13 that the high school would move back to distance learning for the following 10 days, starting on Friday, May 14. As of that day, there were 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the district stating state Department of Health guidelines recommended a shift to remote instruction. Students are expected to return to in-person learning May 24.
According to the district, 163 students would have to be quarantined based on Department of Health guidelines for close contacts, which alongside current absentee rates would mean half of the high school would be absent for in-person instruction. The COVID-19 cases “were isolated to a specific population,” La Center School District Assistant Superintendent Peter Rosenkranz wrote on the district website, adding the district didn’t anticipate there would be close contact issues when in-person instruction began again at the high school on May 24.
High school students were instructed to check their Google Classroom accounts for information on remote learning. Rosenkranz wrote the district would be offering more information on the return to in-person instruction early this week.
