Andover High School Moves To Remote Learning

Press release from Andover Public Schools:

November 6, 2020

Dear APS families and staff,

"This afternoon, Andover High School was notified of two positive COVID-19 cases which carry the potential of close contacts within the school. In order to perform contact tracing, we dismissed students and staff from the building early.

As a result of our initial contact tracing efforts, we have made the decision that Andover High School will move into remote learning effective today in order to protect students and staff and to mitigate the threat of transmission. Students participating in cohort C will continue to attend in-person learning four days a week.

We anticipate that students can return to the building on Monday, November 30, 2020. While at home, students will be able to receive instruction remotely and maintain the emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging for our students and families.

I recognize this situation will create some concern in our community. Our administrative team has consulted with the Town of Andover’s Health Division and APS’s Director of Nursing. We ask that you please continue to monitor your child for symptoms and keep your child home from other activities if they show any symptoms or are not feeling well.

Any person who may be identified as being in close contact will be notified privately by the Town of Andover Health Division or by the Contact Tracing Collaborative. If the Contact Tracing Collaborative calls, the caller id will show MA COVID Team. Those individuals are strongly encouraged to get tested and close contacts are required to quarantine for 14 calendar days. We are also following all Massachusetts Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those families whose students are tested for COVID-19 to please report the results to the school nurse.

For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-

You can also find a map of testing sites at: https://memamaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=eba3f0395451430b9f631cb095febf13

APS has launched a COVID-19 dashboard that will inform families and staff of confirmed cases in our district. The information will be updated weekly and includes data from all schools within the district.

Our goals are always to keep our staff and students safe and healthy. We hope that by moving to remote learning until November 30th will allow us the opportunity to maintain these priorities and return our students to their classrooms."

Shelley Berman

Superintendent

This press release was produced by the Andover Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.