Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy in Swissvale shifting to virtual instruction

Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy will shift to virtual instruction because of an increase in covid-19 cases, Woodland Hills School District announced Monday.

The Swissvale school, which instructs students from sixth through eighth grade, will be operating completely virtually from Wednesday through Sept. 27.

District officials cited “the increasing number of positive and potentially positive cases of covid-19 at Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy” as they announced the temporary shift to virtual learning.

There were 19 active covid-19 cases among students and 15 among staff districtwide at Woodland Hills, according to an online covid-19 tracker updated Monday.

The district’s covid-19 dashboard listed one new covid-19 case among students at Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy on Monday. Two cases were reported among staff in the school Friday, according to the dashboard. The dashboard also showed three additional cases among staff members and one additional case in a student at the school earlier last week.

It was unclear Monday how many active covid-19 cases there were at the school or how many students were quarantined because of potential exposure.

As schools reopen for what many had hoped would be a more normal academic year, several districts are already grappling with covid-19 cases among students and staff.

Highlands School District reported 47 covid-19 cases throughout the district since the start of the school year and temporarily shifted middle schoolers to remote instruction because of a “high number of covid cases.” They recently announced an upcoming school board meeting would also be held virtually, though they did not offer a reason.

A covid-19 outbreak shuttered the middle school at Apollo-Ridge last week. When the middle school closed, there were 20 active covid-19 cases among students and two among staffers. Nearly half of the 280 students attending the school were quarantined due to exposure to the virus.