Geneva private pre-K, kindergarten school closed with 8 cases of COVID-19

GENEVA – A private preschool and kindergarten in Geneva closed today due to eight positive cases of COVID-19, according to an official at the school.

Patty Sherman, admissions director for Kensington School, stated in an email that the eight cases were out of 230 staff and children at the 1776 W. State St., Geneva location.

Sherman did not differentiate as to how many children and how many staff were affected.

“Right now, closing classrooms to minimize risk is a part of operating early childhood programs safely. It is a preventative measure,” Sherman’s email stated. “Kane County has experienced an increase in cases. Everyone is affected by that increase. We have been extra vigilant in taking every possible precaution to reduce the risk of exposure.”

The school opened Monday, following an open house and meet-the-teacher night Aug. 12, according to email announcements to parents.

The school announced to its parents that it is closed today and through Aug. 31 due to positive COVID-19 cases. The school plans to reopen on August 31st, unless cleared by the Kane County Health Department to open earlier.

“The school is not closed by the health department, but their nurse consultant who must consult with per DCFS,” Kane County Health Department spokeswoman Susan Stack stated in an email, clarifying the health department’s role.

Affected classrooms are for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and kindergarten.

“We know closing classrooms causes a great inconvenience to our families, and we do not take that lightly,” Sherman’s email stated. “However, our responsibility is to always use every possible measure to reduce the risk of exposure within our school community.”

The Kensington School of Geneva opened in 1999, providing child care and early childhood education, Sherman’s email stated.

“We closed during the Stay-At-Home order in the spring of 2020 and we reopened on June 1 of 2020,” Sherman’s email stated. “Since then, early childhood programs have had intermittent reports of positive test results which have subsequently led to room closures.”

The email message to its Geneva parents stated, “Although the risk of exposure from surface contact is minimal, there will be a deep and thorough cleaning of the entire building. As always, we ask you to continue to monitor your children for symptoms of illness and notify us of such.”

“We made this difficult decision today with the intent to avoid future extended quarantine. We understand the considerable and immediate inconvenience this causes,” the email stated.

According to its website, Kensington School has 14 locations, including St. Charles, Hinsdale, Western Springs, Wheaton, Naperville, Elmhurst and LaGrange.

It offers an infant nursery and classes for children age 2 through kindergarten, summer camp and arts, according to the website.