When students reported for in-person learning Monday at Skyview Elementary School, three teachers weren’t there to greet them.
Five aides were absent, also.
COVID-19.
All eight are currently quarantining after it announced Sunday that another Skyview staffer had tested positive.
Three other staffers weren’t at Suncrest Middle for the same reason – and the same diagnosis delivered to one of their colleagues.
Thus goes pandemic math, the district’s deputy superintendent Donna Talerico said Monday.
That is, it’s not the number of actual cases – it’s the numbers of people quarantined as a precaution from those cases.
Since September, 36 students in Mon Schools have tested positive, Talerico said, along with 26 employees, including teachers and service personnel.
Relatively speaking, that’s good, the deputy superintendent said.
“Less than 1%,” she said.
“That shows us we’re doing everything we’re supposed to be doing,” the deputy superintendent added.
“We’ve got the screening, we’ve got our COVID cleaning crew and we’ve got all the PPE we need,” she said.
Except for backup.
Somebody has to take the class for the day, Talerico said.
Somebody, the administrator said, has to pick up the bus route and somebody still needs to clean the upper floor.
“We’re lucky that there’s always somebody who can step in.” she said.
“And we are feeling pretty good, but we simply don’t have all the necessary substitutes. That’s concerning.”
That’s because the coronavirus, even with the relatively low numbers in Monongalia County Schools, isn’t going away.
The local district extended remote learning this most recent holiday break to quell the curve. West Virginia and the rest of the country is in the middle of an upsurge of cases.
Cases numbers have yet to be served up from Thanksgiving two weeks ago, but health-watchers are worried about coronavirus leftovers, as it were.
The holiday is heavy on family get-togethers, and the temptation they might bring to go lax with pandemic protocols.
On the COVID alert map maintained by the state Department of Education, Mon Schools started its week back under the yellow flag.
So did neighboring Marion County. Preston County pulled a gold showing and its students are working remotely this week.
Just 10 school districts are among West Virginia’s 55 are currently showing green – the best, safest designation.
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