“As a result, we were informed of nine cases of Covid-19 at North Paulding High School after the first week of instruction in person, along with the possibility that number may increase if there are currently pending tests that positive evidence, we have consulted with the Department of Public Health and temporarily changed the instructional method to Digital Learning at NPHS, “said the letter from Superintendent Brian Otott of Paulding County Schools.
The high school will offer digital learning only on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tuesday night, families will be informed about whether distance instruction will continue or if students can return to school, the letter said.
Meanwhile, “the school will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected,” Otott wrote. The school district will also work with the Georgia Department of Public Health to identify anyone who has had close contact with the confirmed patients and has not yet been identified.
Principal Gabe Carmona wrote in a separate letter on Saturday that “six students and three staff members who were in school for at least a while last week … have since reported to us that they are testing positive.”
Last week, the high school in Dallas, Georgia, – about 40 miles from Atlanta – attracted national attention through a photo posted on Twitter by sophomore Hannah Watters. The viral image showed Hannah’s classmates in a full school uniform with a few visible masks. The school district was restored on August 3rd.
“I was concerned for the safety of everyone in that building and everyone in the province because precautionary measures that the CDC and guidelines that the CDC has been telling us for months have not been followed,” Hannah told CNN Thursday.
In his letter Sunday, Otott apologized to families for “any inconvenience this schedule change may cause, but hopefully we can all agree that the health and safety of our students and staff takes precedence over all other considerations at this time. “
“Good and necessary problems,” says student
Otott said earlier in a letter to the community that the viral photo was taken out of context and that high school classroom changes were a challenge.
“It is an area in which we continue to work in this new environment to find practical ways to further discourage students from joining. Students are in this gong environment for only a short period of time as they move to their next class,” the superintendent wrote .
He added: “There is no question that the photo does not look good. … Wearing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to assign a mandate to wear them.”
Otott’s letter also said the neighborhood expected him to “make adjustments.” The district decided earlier on Thursday to create virtual learning days for students receiving personal instruction, “so all of our schools can step back and assess how things are going so far,” Otott said.
Hannah said she was initially suspended for posting the photo. But on Friday, her mother told CNN that the suspension was reversed. Lynne Watters spoke Friday morning with the school’s principal, she said, and was told her daughter would not be stopped and a suspension would not appear on her plate. Hannah can return to school Monday.
Hannah does not regret sharing the photo, she told CNN.
“I want to say that this is some good and necessary problem,” she said. “My biggest concern is not just about being safe,” she said. “It’s about making everyone safe, because behind every teacher, student and staff there is a family, there are friends, and I would just like to keep everyone safe.”
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