NAMPA, Idaho — The Nampa School District is the latest district forced to cancel classes amid widespread COVID-19 infections.
The district announced Tuesday that five schools will be closed down, with all classes canceled, through the end of the week. The school affected are:
- New Horizons Dual Language School
- Gateways
- Nampa Early Childhood Learning Center
- East Valley Middle School
- Centennial Elementary School
The decision comes as school officials grapple with "extremely high levels of illness" that resulted in 170 staff out and 72 unfilled classrooms on Tuesday.
"This is the highest rate of illness we have seen so far this year," officials wrote. "We have deployed all available staff and had numerous volunteers step up to assist in covering classrooms and duties, but we are still short of meeting our needs."
Classes at the five schools affected will resume Monday, Jan. 24.
Both Horseshoe Bend School District and WIlder Schoo District have also canceled school or moved classes to remote learning over widespread COVID-19 infections.
Nampa administrators say the break will hopefully allow the sick teachers enough time to recover and return to their classrooms. The district elected to make masks and face coverings optional ahead of this school year.
"While regrettable, closing these schools will allow staff to get healthy and help us redeploy substitutes to other schools," officials wrote. "We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding during this difficult time."
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.
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