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Carmel Schools Superintendent Eric Stark announced the shift to remote learning will start on Monday, Dec. 14 for all schools. Carmel High School already shifted to distance learning starting on Monday, Dec. 7.
All students will return to in-person learning as of Friday, Jan. 8.
“There were a number of factors that led to the decision to close for the extended time period,” Stark wrote in a message to parents. “The primary reason is the health and safety of our students and staff."
Stark cited a surge in new COVID-19 cases in Putnam over the past two weeks as a reason for going remote.
“As you are aware, over the past two weeks there has been a spike in COVID cases in the country, our region, and in Putnam County,” he said. “This past week alone, there were 279 new cases in Putnam County. Of these, nearly 70 percent were in the towns we serve: Carmel, Kent, and Patterson.”
According to Stark, the recent surge has also put stress on the district, which has been largely responsible for contact tracing, a task that usually falls on the district’s principals, who are already combating the pandemic on other fronts.
“As we are seeing a rise in the number of students and staff who must quarantine, we are finding the COVID coordinators are spending a great deal of time contacting parents and staff members—they are often working through the school day as well as on nights and weekends to complete our COVID notifications,” he said.
“This takes valuable time away from not only their normal responsibilities but also time from supporting students and staff during these unusual times,” Stark added. “Another shift has to do with COVID testing, which would become the district’s responsibility in the event our area is designated to be in a yellow, orange, or red zone.”
According to New York State’s COVID-19 school’s “Report Card,” there have been a total of 49 students in the Carmel School District who tested positive for COVID-19, and another 19 teachers and staff members have also had confirmed cases since September.
Carmel High School has seen the most confirmed cases in students and staffers (38), followed by George Fischer Middle School (13), Kent Primary School (nine), Kent Elementary School (six), and Matthew Paterson Elementary School (two).
Stark said that the rise in positive cases has forced a total of 922 students and 158 staffers in the district to temporarily enter quarantine since September, with 48 percent of those coming within the past two weeks.
“For these reasons and in an effort to keep families from having to quarantine over the holidays, we are making the difficult decision to move all students to remote learning,” he added. “We did not make this decision lightly and fully understand it may have a significant impact on our families. However, we are committed to providing the safest learning environment for our students and staff.”
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