Closing their doors
Surge forces more school districts to switch to remote classes.
Rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the Capital Region, as well as around the state and nationwide, have led more local school districts to switch to remote learning this coming week. Here is a roundup of some of the affected districts:
Bethlehem Central School District continues to see rising cases
Two new cases of COVID -19 were reported by the Bethlehem Central School District on Saturday, bringing the district’s total confirmed cases since the beginning of the school year to 23. One of the new cases was linked to Bethlehem Central High School, the other to Glenmont Elementary School — that elementary school’s first confirmed case.
For the COVID -19 case at Glenmont Elementary, the Albany County Department of Health determined there was possible exposure at the school; they will quarantine an entire classroom and any other close contacts at the school. The potential date of possible exposure was Friday, Nov. 20.
Bethlehem Central High School has been the source of most of the district’s cases since the school year began: Eighteen of the 23 confirmed cases have been individuals associated with the high school, according to the school district.
The high school will be conducting allremote learning all of next week as the result of a staffing shortage due to quarantine.
At Bethlehem Central Middle School, meanwhile, one eighth-grade team of classes, Patroon 8, will be remote through Thursday, Dec. 3, also as a result of a wide
spread quarantine.
Guilderland Elementary switching to remote
Guilderland Elementary School will switch to allremote learning until Dec. 9 due to the fallout from a new COVID -19 case.
It was one of two new positive cases announced by the Guilderland Central School District on Saturday, with the other case involving
an individual at Farnsworth Middle School.
Guilderland Elementary School is working with the Albany County Department of Health on contact tracing to determine who will need to quarantine as a result of the positive test. But that has created a staffing shortage for that school building, and led to the district’s decision that students from kindergarten through the fourth grade will engage in allremote learning, beginning Monday, until Tuesday, Dec. 8. In-person learning will resume on Wednesday, Dec. 9.
At Farnsworth Middle School, the school district said it appears that one classroom has been affected by the individual who tested positive there. Everyone in the classroom has been contacted, the school district said, and the school is expected to be open for in-person instruction on Monday.
North Colonie grades 7-12 to go remote Monday and Tuesday
Middle and high schoolers in North Colonie Central School District will be remote Monday and Tuesday due to COVID -19 increases in Albany County, the district announced Sunday afternoon.
The decision was a result of forced quarantines of teachers and staff. Students in grades 7 through 12 will use Google Classroom to report virtually for their normal class schedule. Students in K-6 schools will have in-person class as normal.
Albany elementary school case leads to quarantine of 49
Albany city schools reported five positive COVID -19 cases Sunday, one of which led to 49 exposures from school and the bus.
Three of the other four cases were individuals in school fully virtually who were not exposed to any others in the district. The fourth was an individual from Albany High, who was last in the building on Wednesday. But the district said there were “no school-related contacts and no additional impact on the building.”
The last case, with the 49 exposures, was from a fifth-grade classroom at Delaware Community School. The person was last in school Nov. 20 and is now quarantined at home. Contact tracers with the Albany County Department of Health said there were 33 exposures from a First Student bus and 16 more from Delaware Community School.
All 49 have been notified and are now also quarantined at home.
Watervliet Elementary goes remote for a week
Watervliet Elementary School will switch to remote learning after two people associated with the school tested positive for COVID -19.
On Sunday, Watervliet City School District said in a statement that kindergarten through fifth grade students, as well as “Miss Shannon’s class,” will move to remote learning starting Monday and going through Friday.
Some schools are not affected. The 3-year-old pre-kindergarten program at the old Maplewood School remains open, and Watervliet Jr.- Sr. High School will be open for in-person learning for grades six through 12 on Monday.