Norwin postpones school reopening, closes middle school

Faced with more coronavirus cases at school and in the community, Norwin School District officials said Monday the middle school will close for at least two days this week and the full reopening of its schools will be postponed from Nov. 4 until at least Nov. 18.

Two positive cases were identified in the middle school.

Superintendent Jeff Taylor said Monday the community spread and transmission rates in the North Huntingdon-Irwin area remain in the “substantial category” and has increased in the past two weeks. The positivity rate for school district residents being infected with coronavirus has increased from 11.5% on Oct. 5 to 16.3% as of Oct. 26.

The most recent data shows more than one-third of the coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County are now among youth ages 12 to 17, Taylor said.

The school district has had about 25 students and staff test positive for the virus since the school year began on Aug. 31. State guidelines required the quarantining of 267 students and staff since classes began, including 122 students and staff now in quarantine, Taylor said. The school district anticipates at least 40 middle school students will be quarantined over the next 48 hours, he added.

The combination of employees who call off sick and the number of employees who are quarantined places a significant strain on the school district, Taylor said.

“Without enough adults to operate our buildings and supervise students, there are significant safety concerns for our students and staff,” Taylor said.

Norwin will continue to operate on its hybrid education model — two days in-class instruction and three days of remote learning. The administration will re-evaluate on Nov. 9 its plans to reopen on Nov. 18, Taylor said.

Middle school closes

The middle school will be closed for at least Tuesday and Wednesday and all instruction will switch to remote learning because one student and one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus, Taylor said. All middle school athletics are canceled during the closure.

The state needs to conduct contact tracing on the most recent cases, so anyone considered close to those who tested positive for the virus will be notified and have to begin a 14-day quarantine, Taylor said. A school official, school nurse or health department worker will contact the family of each student or staff member if they must quarantine, Taylor said.

“The amount of contact tracing will take some time to complete,” Taylor said.

Norwin previously closed five schools earlier this month, including the high school and middle school.

While it is closed, the building will be deep-cleaned, disinfected and sanitized, Taylor said. The closure will allow staff to safely ventilate the areas where the people with coronavirus had been. The middle school staff will return to the building to work in their Google classrooms until in-person instruction can resume.