SAUGUS — Parents were informed Monday in an email from Superintendent David DeRuosi that four staff members, three at Veterans Elementary School and one at Saugus Middle/High School, had tested positive for COVID-19.
“We have been planning for this scenario during our reopening planning process,” wrote DeRuosi. “We have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the school, inform families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected families as they navigate this stressful experience.”
Saugus Public Schools have been largely remote since they closed last March in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of roughly 90 special education students in grades pre-K through 12 who attend in-person classes twice a week.
Educators have been teaching their classes remotely from inside the building since Sept. 16. The school committee voted in November to postpone the district’s return to its brick-and-mortar buildings until at least Jan. 2021.
Superintendent David DeRuosi announced the first positive COVID-19 case in the Saugus school community on Nov. 13.
The school committee is still eying a Jan. 4 return to in-person learning.
“It’s important to get the kids back to school, but obviously we want to do it safely,” said school committee Vice Chair Ryan Fisher. “I’m hopeful that as we move away from Thanksgiving and as vaccines start to come out things will start to stabilize.”
Parents of any children who came into contact with the infected staff members were notified privately and asked to be tested and to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“We are also following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing,” wrote Deruosi. “Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 to please report the results to the school nurse. We are working hard to understand the impact of the virus on our school community, and this information is a critical piece of that puzzle.”
The schools are being cleaned and sanitized, so the students who are doing in-person learning can return to class.
“To further prevent transmission of the virus to other staff and students, we have sanitized the school with a focus on those areas frequented by the community members that tested positive,” said Deruosi. “We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in-person learning.”
Parents with concerns about COVID-19 in the schools are asked to contact Sandra Moynihan, at [email protected].
