After an increase in community COVID-19 cases, State College prepares to shut down schools
One week into the academic year, State College is preparing for the possibility of switching to districtwide remote learning.
As of noon Tuesday, the state Department of Health has reported 63 COVID-19 cases within district ZIP codes in the past seven days. Though no cases have been confirmed among staff or students, the district health and safety plan requires administrators to consider closing facilities if 50-75 coronavirus cases are confirmed in district boundaries.
SCASD Superintendent Bob O’Donnell first notified families Monday of the potential change in a letter. He issued another update Tuesday, saying that while the number of cases remains within the 50-75 range, the countywide seven-day total for Tuesday (67), places the district below the range of 80-120 cases in its plan for considering a switch to districtwide remote learning.
“Please know that, every day, we are assessing multiple indicators related to the presence of COVID-19,” O’Donnell wrote Tuesday. “How many cases within the district’s ZIP codes is one key data point among many that we will use in any consideration of shifting to fully remote learning. While important, and definitely concerning, it’s not the only factor we would use to make a decision. In addition to cases in our schools, we’re tracking multiple other factors, among them hospital capacity and Penn State employee numbers.”
District board members met virtually for a work session Monday to discuss the potential change and the fall sports health and safety plan. Two weeks ago, the board voted down a proposal for a total reopening to monitor the virus as Penn State students returned to campus. SCASD also delayed its first day of school by one day to finalize its reopening and learning plans.
Offering guidance, Penn State associate professor of biology Maciej Boni said the district hasn’t hit any markers that indicate a need to switch to remote learning, but the outlook didn’t look good.
“The data don’t look like they’re moving in the right direction,” he said.
Though it would take some time for one confirmed case to result in community spread, Boni said the district must start preparing for the “riskiest” of outcomes on both sides of the decision — what staying open means for staff and faculty and what closing means for students and families.
Boni suggested the board reevaluate at Wednesday’s board meeting and decide whether or not to close schools for in-person learning on Thursday and Friday to further assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 11:18 PM.
