North Paulding High School students and staff will return to campus next week after the school closes due to a coronavirus outbreak.
One of the first schools in the nation to reopen during the pandemic, the school attracted national attention after a photo was taken of a subsequent hall of students with a pair of face masks going viral. Shortly thereafter, half a dozen students and three school staff tested positive for COVID-19.
The Georgian high school was closed Monday and Tuesday to be cleaned and disinfected and initially planned to reopen on Wednesday, but the closure was extended until the rest of the week.
As of Wednesday, the school has reported at least 35 confirmed cases among the student population of 2,000, according to the Paulding County School District.
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The Paulding County School System does not require students and staff to wear face masks, but to provide teachers with masks.
A document signed by Superintendent Brian Otott and Principal Gabe Carmona says that on changing days, students are expected to return to campus next week. Students will be divided into two groups based on where their last name falls in the alphabet.
The school is hopeful that reducing the number of students by half will reduce the congestion of the halls and “will help reduce other challenges we have identified” in the school’s first opening August 3rd.
Students will attend online classes on days when they are not on campus.
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“Obviously, the rate of COVID-19 proliferation is a concern that requires us to adjust our plan for instruction to individuals to protect the health and safety of our students and staff,” school officials wrote Wednesday to parents.
“Before the school year began, we shared that this would be a school year as opposed to another, and that there would be challenges ahead that would require us to adapt, adapt and be flexible,” officials continued. . “We knew that would be especially true at NPHS, the largest high school in Paulding County with more than 2,000 students and staff on campus at any given time.”
Twitter: Hannah Waters @ihateiceman
Elders and teachers from the community expressed concern at a meeting of Paulding County School Board on Tuesday night.
Some argued that the district did not do enough to protect its students and staff, while others said parents had the choice to opt for online learning before classes began. Two-thirds of parents chose for their children to attend instruction in person.
The school district arrested two students last week, including 15-year-old Hannah Watters who allowed her to post the photo online. After much criticism of the school for trying to silence students about safety issues at North Paulding High School, their suspensions were lifted on Friday.
“I want to say that this is some good and necessary problem, so I’m not sorry I posted this because it has to be said,” Watters told CNN.
Newsweek reached out to North Paulding High School for comment but did not return for publication.
