Averill Park High School Quarantines 52 Students After Positive Covid Test

Averill Park High School announced that they have a student who tested positive for the coronavirus. I woke up this morning with an email from the school district laying out their plan to reduce the risk and their preventative measures. These include contact tracing that has identified 52 students that will quarantine for 14 days, five teachers, and two staff members that will as well. These individuals that have been identified will need a negative COVID test after the 14-day quarantine in order to return to school or work.

This is exactly what I feared when I sent my daughter back to school for the fall term. My daughter is a senior at Averill Park High School and even though we've kept our "bubble" of family and friends small to help minimize our risk of getting COVID-19 it was always the thought of going back to school that scared me. So many students, teachers, and staff in one building...all it takes is one student or teacher to test positive and it could set off an avalanche of cases.

I don't blame Averill Park High School at all. They have been amazing with their hybrid and remote learning options, social distancing, mask-wearing, and extra school cleaning. They have truly done everything they can to minimize the risks. They have even over-communicated with parents about everything they've done to make the 2020 school year as safe and normal as they can.

As the parent of a child with a compromised immune system, this scares the hell out of me. Hopefully, this is an isolated case that won't spread...but to be honest...if we had to go to an all-remote learning school year it wouldn't break my heart to have my daughter home in my safe little bubble.