Phoenixville Schools Closing For A Day To Prepare For Coronavirus

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Phoenixville Area School District is closing for one day next week to prepare for coronavirus.

Staff will use Monday, March 16 as a professional development day to prepare various online instruction methods in case the schools must be closed at some point. It will be a day off for students.

Several schools in nearby Montgomery County were shut down for all or part of this week in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Impacted districts included Cheltenham, Norristown, Upper Merion, and Hatboro-Horsham, along with Germantown Academy.

In a letter posted on the school district's website, Superintendent Alan Fegley confirmed that there are no known cases of the coronavirus in the district.

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"With the fluidity of the situation, we realize this could change at any time, and we are working proactively to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and community at large," he said.

In addition to preparing teachers for potentially holding classes remotely, the district is also taking several other steps to keep their schools safe, including performing a deep cleaning of schools each evening, providing additional cleaning supplies to staff to wipe down surfaces, and sanitizing school buses each day.

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On Tuesday, the eighth case of coronavirus was found in Montgomery County in a local student, along with the first in Philadelphia, bringing the Pennsylvania total up to 12.