Spike in COVID cases postpones return
ROYERSFORD » A spike in new COVID-19 cases in the towns of the Spring-Ford Area School District has convinced school officials to delay the planned Monday return to in-person learning.
Schools Superintendent David Goodin issued the notice Sunday.
“While we were planning to return to in-person learning tomorrow, there has been a significant increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Spring-Ford footprint including Limerick Township, Upper Providence Township, Royersford Borough, and Spring City Borough. As a result, we will delay the return to in-person learning for ALL schools at this time,” Goodin wrote.
The Montgomery County COVID-19 dashboard shows 758 new positive tests in the county in the last seven days and Chester County’s site indicates 1,039 new positive test results from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3.
Sunday’s figures for “the last 30 days” indicate reports of 226 new positives in Limerick, 184 in Upper Providence, 40 in Royersford borough and 63 in Spring City borough.
As a result of the increase, which comes in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday when many traveled to family gatherings, “all students, including students with special needs, will remain virtual on Monday, Dec. 7,” Goodin wrote.
Monday night, the Spring-Ford School Board will “discuss reopening options and dates moving forward. An update will be sent to all Spring-Ford employees and fami
“While we were planning to return to in-person learning ... there has been a significant increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Spring-Ford footprint including Limerick Township, Upper Providence Township, Royersford Borough, and Spring City Borough. As a result, we will delay the return to in-person learning for ALL schools at this time.”
— Superintendent David Goodin
lies tomorrow evening with a new timeline,” according to Goodin’s message.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and is available to watch online. Individuals who plan on watching the meeting and do not plan on making Public Comment should watch using the live YouTube link. Individuals who plan on watching online and would like to make Public Comment should click here to participate using Zoom.
Links are available on https://www.springford.net/ which is the Spring-Ford schools website.
“As always, the safety and well-being of our students, staff and families is our top priority. We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with the latest information. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or your child’s principal,” Goodin wrote.
Spring-Ford was not the only district planning to return to partial in-person instruction Monday under the hybrid model, which has students attending school in person two days per week.
Also scheduled to return to school buildings Monday are students and staff in the Pottsgrove School District.
As of 1 p.m. Sunday, there was no change of plan being announced on the Pottsgrove website.
According to the Montgomery County figures, in the last 30 days, 126 new positives have been reported in Lower Pottsgrove, 50 in Upper Pottsgrove and 27 in West Pottsgrove.
Phoenixville Schools returned to all-virtual classes last month following an increase in cases in Chester County, but the Owen J. Roberts School Board rejected a similar recommendation from its administration and voted to continue part-time in-person classes.
The OJR COVID-19 dashboard indicates a total of four cases among students and staff in the last two weeks and figures from the Chester County Health Department show in the last two weeks ending Dec. 4, there were fewer new cases in the municipalities that comprise the district — 104 new positives — than the previous two weeks, which saw 143 new cases.
Pottstown Schools have remained virtual since March and have not returned to classes at all. The current plan calls for a return to partial in-person classes for those who wish to return on Jan. 19.
All school districts continue to offer virtual instruction online for any student, even if in-person classes are also available.
Like much of the nation, Pennsylvania has seen a spike in new cases, which many health experts had predicted would occur as the colder months approach.