Back to virtual learning mode
High school, middle school switch after outbreak, hundreds in quarantine
Oxford High School and Oxford Middle School have shifted to all-virtual learning after multiple COVID-19 cases and hundreds in quarantine.
The high school has 21 active cases and 195 students under quarantine. The positive cases are split between staff and students, according to Oxford Community Schools officials. It has been in virtual-only mode since Thursday.
The middle school has 12 active cases and 100 quarantined students. It went to virtual-only learning Tuesday.
Both are expected to return to in-person classes on Monday, March 22.
District officials believe the cases at the high school resulted from large social gatherings outside of school on the weekend of March 6-7.
The district said in a statement issued Tuesday that officials first learned of the positive cases and the social gatherings on March 10.
“Upon hearing the news of the first cases tied to these specific social events, we agreed as an administration to be prudent and immediately transition to remote learning at Oxford High School for both March 11 and 12. As we discovered new cases throughout the week, on Friday, March 12 we chose to extend the remote learning window through this week,” the statement said.
The district has offered in-person school since the beginning of the academic year last August, except for a brief pause in November when the number of cases skyrocketed in the region and around the state.
“Since the beginning of the school year, Oxford Community Schools is aware of two potential inschool transmissions of the coronavirus in the district. The overwhelming majority of cases and spread of the coronavirus have occurred outside of school, but have impacted our operations and ability to offer programs in-person,” the statement said.