Greater Latrobe set to revert to full-time online instruction

Greater Latrobe School District will step back to full-time remote instruction for all students beginning Monday, prompted by a surge of coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County.

In a letter to district parents, Superintendent Georgia Teppert said the district will finish the current week with in-person classroom instruction “in order for our teachers and students to complete the first nine-week grading period and for parents to prepare for family needs.”

She said families will be notified if there is a “substantial increase” in coronavirus cases in particular classrooms or buildings that would prompt moving to online instruction sooner.

As of 4 p.m. Monday, Greater Latrobe reported five active coronavirus cases within the district and 44 inactive cases.

Active cases are people confirmed to be infected with the virus who are contagious and quarantined. Inactive cases are those who have progressed more than 10 days beyond their illness onset date and are no longer considered contagious.

The district’s active cases include two students at Latrobe Elementary and one student each at the senior high, the junior high and Baggaley Elementary. The inactive cases include 16 students at the senior high, eight students each at the junior high and Latrobe Elementary, two students each at Baggaley and Mt. View elementary schools, three staff members at Latrobe Elementary, two staffers at the senior high, two extracurricular staff and one staffer assigned to facilities and transportation.

In comparison, the district on Friday reported 26 active cases and 19 inactive cases.

Teppert said district officials decided to move back to online instruction after consulting with a panel of local medical professionals and based on guidance from the state education and health departments.

The county on Friday completed a second week of “substantial” coronavirus transmission levels, marked by at least 100 cases per 100,000 residents and triggering a state recommendation for all schools in the county to switch to full remote learning. The county’s positivity rate among those who have been tested for infection with the virus has increased to about 7.5%, up from 5% at the beginning of October.

Teppert said the district will begin at least two weeks of remote instruction while monitoring county transmission levels and checking with its medical panel.

“When Westmoreland County returns to a moderate level of community transmission, we will reevaluate a change to our instructional model to include a brick-and-mortar setting,” she said.

Another factor the district considered was a rewording of what constitutes a close contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Teppert noted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week described close contact as spending at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period within 6 feet of a positive case. A previous guideline indicated the 6 feet of proximity should occur over 15 consecutive minutes.

“This new guideline will greatly increase the number of individuals needing to be quarantined when our schools are confronted with a positive case, thus making it even more difficult to keep our school buildings open and remain in a brick-and-mortar setting,” she said.