By Edelia “Dr. Jay” Carthan,
Writer,
Corinth School District was one of the first school districts to reopen and resume classes face to face about a week ago, and the district reported its first positive COVID-19 case the same week.
The Corinth School District reopened for the fall semester July 27 and reported their first positive COVID-19 case four days later. Parents or guardians of Corinth students were given the option of returning to school in person or virtually. About 80-85% of the students and their families chose to go back to school in person. The rest have decided to attend school virtually according to the superintendent.
The Corinth School District posted on its Facebook page, July 31, that an individual tested positive for COVID-19. “We have had an individual test positive at Corinth High School. Contact tracing at the school has been completed and anyone close (within 6 feet of an infected person for 25 minutes or more) to this person has been notified.
If you were notified, your child will need to quarantine for 14 days from the last known contact. While quarantining, your child may not attend school or any school activities. However, they should continue working digitally in order to be counted present.
Superintendent Lee Childress said a parent of the student who tested positive for the virus contacted the school district. It was reported that 14 students were in contact with the student who tested positive. “It’s something our community wanted. It’s something we thought we could do,” said Childress. “We took precautions by keeping windows and doors open to have ventilation in the classrooms. We did anything that we can do to provide a safe learning environment.”
The district had two more positive cases reported on Monday. The district made a statement in another letter posted on Facebook, “We have had two additional individuals test positive at Corinth High School,” the district announced.
“This makes three positive cases at Corinth High School. These three individuals attended school early last week but have not been present at Corinth High School since Tuesday of last week,” the post read.
“One of the things we asked our teachers to do is have seating charts that show where students are in each of the classrooms and we know the distances that exist between those desks,” Childress explained.
As one of the first school districts to reopen, the district says the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control is in close contact to ensure the proper safety protocols are in place.
Reactions and responses from parents and community members varied on the district’s Facebook page. “We applaud you guys! I could not be more proud to be a part of this school district! Thank you for the transparency. Praying for the families affected by this and our school district,” Nicole Roach wrote on Facebook under the initial post.
“That didn’t take long,” Brian Latch added. “OMG, just close the schools till this mess is over,” Debbie Kennedy chimed in. There were hundreds of posts from the community giving their feedback.
The superintendent said he would continue to be transparent and emphasized that everyone inside the school was required to wear masks.
Be the first to comment