Peabody Schools At 95 Percent Staff Attendance Amid COVID Spike

PEABODY, MA —Ninety-five percent of Peabody Public Schools staff was in the buildings and classrooms across the district Tuesday in what Superintendent Josh Vadala told Patch was a testament to staff dedication, vigilance and the district's efforts to provide masks and coronavirus tests.

The student absence rate of 20 percent is about double what it was this time last year, according to Vadala, who added: "We continue to monitor cases closely and will work with the health department to modify any protocols if recommended."

Vadala said 6,000 at-home test kits were distributed to students prior to the holiday break and 300 tests were given to staff on Sunday. He said 600 more tests and 30,000 KN95 masks — a six-week supply — were handed out to teachers and staff on Monday.

He called Tuesday's relatively high teacher attendance "a huge credit to the dedication of our staff."

"I'm extremely proud of our teachers, administrators and support staff," he said. "Clearly, they've made sacrifices to stay healthy and have prioritized coming to school to support the students and their fellow colleagues.

"The ones that have gotten sick have taken care of themselves and have been able to get healthy quickly so they can return to work when they are cleared to do so. Overall, I can't say enough about the commitment of our staff to ensure our students have an in-person learning option for this school year."

The schools have worked with the city health department to review state guidelines and have implemented them throughout the district. Vadala said vaccination clinics were scheduled for all elementary schools and noted the free community testing event on New Year's Day at Higgins Middle School — which "sold out" of spots in pre-registration by Friday.

He added that both the test-to-stay and diagnostic testing will be available to keep as many students in school as possible in the coming weeks.

Vadala said the number of students enrolled in the Peabody Personalized Remote Education Program — one of a handful of district-wide remote learning approved across the state — has remained at about 2 percent of the school population — or about 120 students.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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