Johnson County Catholic school shifts to online learning after teacher COVID-19 cases
Ascension Catholic School in Overland Park has shifted to online-only learning after two teachers tested positive for COVID-19, causing a staffing shortage.
After consulting with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, officials determined five additional teachers needed to quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus. Because of the number of teachers out of school, as well as a shortage of available substitute teachers, school officials decided to move to online learning through Nov. 16.
“During the week of Nov. 9, the school will be professionally cleaned to ensure the health of students and staff when they return to (the) building,” school officials said in a news release. “In addition, school administrators will be reviewing health protocols and making adjustments, as needed, to allow students to continue with in-person learning.”
Bishop Ward Catholic High School in Kansas City, Kansas, also transitioned to online-only classes this week after six teachers were instructed to quarantine, said school President Jay Dunlap.
“This is the third week we have had to interrupt our hybrid schedule to go online-only, and it has always been because of faculty exposures (mostly outside of school or school activities) and the difficulty of finding in-person substitutes,” Dunlap said in an email to The Star. “So far this semester, none of our faculty or staff have caught the virus since our return to classes Sept. 8.”
Last Monday, Oak Park High School in the North Kansas City School District held classes online after a surge in COVID-19 cases. The school identified 15 cases in the previous two weeks.
The Kansas City metro is reporting an exponential rise in coronavirus cases. Last week, the metro saw two days in a row where more than 1,000 new cases were reported. And the University of Kansas Health System was hit with a record number of virus patients.
Johnson County also reported record new daily COVID-19 cases last week. The county’s positivity rate — or the number of positive tests over the past 14 days — was 13.8%. That’s up from about 8% a couple of weeks ago. And that puts the county in the “red” zone per its school criteria, where remote learning is recommended.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 10:56 AM.
