NAMPA, Idaho — Twelve Vallivue Middle School staff members will be quarantined for 14 days following a possible exposure to COVID-19 during a district meeting; they will miss the first days of school.
The Idaho Press reports the 12 staff members participated in a Child Study Team meeting at Vallivue Middle School on Aug. 13, according to Superintendent Pat Charlton. One staff member tested positive for the virus following the meeting.
“It was a mistake to hold a large meeting in a room that did not allow for adequate social distancing,” Charlton said in an email to the Idaho Press.
Special education teachers, a school psychologist, counselors, parents and an administrator were possibly exposed, said Charlton. He said, “the room was not large enough to allow for everyone to be more than six feet away from each other.”
The district sent an email to teachers Tuesday notifying them of the potential exposure and that staff members are in quarantine.
Vallivue students start school Aug. 25 in a hybrid of in-person and at-home teaching and learning model. Substitutes will fill classes on the first two day for those teachers in quarantine.
“This illustrates how just one positive case of COVID-19 can affect an entire school and how it can be difficult for schools to stay open once they start having positive cases,” Charlton said.
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