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Episcopal halts some in-person classes as more than 1/4 of Upper School students quarantined

3 years 7 months 4 days ago Thursday, August 13 2020 Aug 13, 2020 August 13, 2020 9:43 PM August 13, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE- Episcopal School of Baton Rouge's Upper School is transitioning to distance learning as over one-quarter of students are quarantined, the school announced in an email to families on Thursday.

Lower and Middle schools are not affected, according to the email.

The shutdown of in-person classes for the Upper School came as a result of "multiple off-campus social events last weekend," the letter said.

In-person classes are set to resume for those students, who are in grades 9-12, on Aug. 27. 

Dr. Carrie Steakley, the head of school, told parents in the letter that student safety was the most important consideration:

"We began this school year with an extensive reopening plan to mitigate the risk of the spread of COVID-19 among the Episcopal school community. As a result of multiple off-campus social events last weekend, over one quarter of our Upper School students have been asked to quarantine due to potential exposure. Transitioning Upper School to distance learning is a precautionary measure to create a gap between those who have been exposed and those who have not been exposed. This is in accordance with our Returning Safely to Campus protocols.

The directive to transition to distance learning was advised and supported by the school’s Health Advisory Committee, which is made up of local physicians and healthcare professionals, Head of School Dr. Carrie Steakley, Head of Upper School Tom Forti and faculty representatives. As you are aware, Episcopal established an extensive health and safety protocol informed by best practices from the CDC, AAP, LDH, LDOE Strong Start 2020, LHSAA and The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. This decision reflects a commitment to those protocols. 

While this news is certainly disappointing for many of you, as it is for us, we must prioritize student safety. We remind you again to abide by the Health and Wellness Commitment signed by all families and students at the beginning of this school year to protect the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff. It is critical that you notify the school nurse if your child is tested, especially in the event of a positive test result, as this impacts the entire school community. We are all in this together."

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