Classroom is in quarantine

Travel limit in area school credited with containing exposure

School districts across the Capital Region spent another day trying to navigate around protecting against COVID -19, and figuring out how to maintain a learning environment after people test positive.

A classroom of Van Rensselaer Elementary School students and staff members is under quarantine for two weeks after they were exposed to a student Monday and Tuesday who has been diagnosed with COVID -19, the Rensselaer City School District said Tuesday.

“Fortunately, our current hybrid model limits travel between classes and intermingling of students in different classes. This practice contained the exposure to one classroom,” Rensselaer Superintendent Joseph Kardash said in a letter to parents and guardians Tuesday.

The district is working with the Rensselaer County Health Department to contact the families of the students who may have been exposed. The county will contact anyone who may have been exposed to ask that they quarantine and look for any symptoms, the district said.

County officials confirmed the case. The student apparently contracted COVID -19 through a family exposure, officials said.

The district will remain open, Kardash said.

Meanwhile, the Hoosick Falls Central School District said it will now have students complete a daily health screening questionnaire as the district prepares to return next week to in-person learning after a week of remote learning.

The district switched to virtual learning for the week of Oct. 5-9 after two high school students tested positive for COVID -19 and other students and staff members were exposed.

Many districts already use the daily screening process, which requires parents to answer three online questions each morning that deals with their child’s health and if they have traveled, or have possible exposure to anyone else infected.

The district announced the daily health screening process Monday as a way “to assist in identifying symptoms and cases of COVID -19.”

Last week, after the two high school students tested positive the district had to quarantine a number of staff members as well as students that came in contact with the positive individuals. Also, a significant number of students were reporting absent and there was a high demand for substitutes. To date, the district has not been notified of any new cases.

Classes are scheduled to resumetuesday.

Students also will have their temperature taken on the bus or when they are dropped off at the school each morning. Students with a temperature at 100-degrees or above will not be allowed to enter the school.