CHAMBERSBURG—Chambersburg Area Middle School North, on Scotland Avenue, will transition to all virtual learning beginning Tuesday, Nov. 17, with a tentative return to in-person learning Dec. 3.
District officials made the announcement Monday.
“Late Nov. 16, the Chambersburg Area School District administration was notified of one positive case of COVID-19 at the Chambersburg Area Middle School North. As a result, a significant number of teachers and teacher assistants at CAMS North will be unable to provide in-person instruction due to staffing limitations and subsequent quarantine measures as outlined by the CDC and PA Department of Health,” said Brian Miller, CASD communications and marketing director.
Virtual instruction will begin for all students at the regularly-scheduled time.
The school office will be open tomorrow, Nov. 17, 8 a.m. to noon for any student, AA or BB, to retrieve their Chromebook and personal belongings.
Teachers will communicate directly with families on both the AA and BB schedules regarding continuity of education during the closure.
During the closure, all areas within the building will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, beyond the regular and extensive cleaning that already occurs daily.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, together with Chambersburg Area School District, conducted the contact tracing investigation.
Families and students in direct contact will be called by school building staff.
Close contact is defined by the CDC as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated.
Individuals identified as close contacts will be contacted by PA DoH and/or Chambersburg administration.
If an individual is not contacted by PA DoH and/or CASD, the individual is not considered to be a close contact. Please be aware that Chambersburg Area School District has multiple employees who are certified contract tracers.
Parents with questions or concerns about the closure should contact Chambersburg Area Middle School North office at 717-261-3366.
Confirmed case on bus
In addition, Bus 702 was determined to have a confirmed case present during a route.
School buses use seating charts to assist in contact tracing and students needing to transition to virtual learning will be contacted directly by the Department of Health.
The bus will continue to run its regularly scheduled route.
CASD admin building also affected
The CASD administration building is also closing due to COVID.
“At the recommendation of the PA Department of Health, the CASD administration offices will close tomorrow, Nov. 17, through Friday, Nov. 20, due to recently confirmed cases of COVID-19,” Miller said.
“Offices will reopen on Monday, Nov. 23. Office staff will work remotely during this time, and parents/guardians may continue to call the office main phone line—717-263-9281—for assistance.
As a result of the building closure, the regular school board meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Nov. 17, will be held virtually on Youtube.
