Oswego East High School to enter adaptive pause, return to remote learning from April 22 - May 1

Oswego East High School will return to remote learning and enter an adaptive pause for six days due to an increase in students required to quarantine because of exposure to a positive case of COVID-19, according to a letter sent by Oswego School District 308 to OEHS parents and staff Tuesday, April 20.

“Over the past several days, Oswego East High School has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of students required to quarantine due to close contact with a COVID-19 positive case,” the letter reads. “The majority of our classrooms can’t accommodate six feet of distance between students, which generates several quarantines from each positive case.”

Currently, the letter explains, OEHS has 15 positive cases of COVID-19 among students, “resulting in over 300 students excluded from in-person attendance. In response, the school is transitioning to remote learning April 22 - May 1.”

Students will participate in classes remotely and follow their same schedule during the six days of school impacted by the pause.

“This pause of in-person learning,” the letter continues, “will allow for the expiration of any current COVID-19 positive isolations and reduce the potential for exposure and subsequent quarantine of classmates. The pause will shift all classes to remote learning and either postpone all athletics and activities or transition them to virtual-only.”

Special education students in self-contained class or with alternative plans, will receive information from their teachers directly regarding attendance, according to the letter.

The letter concludes: “The decision to move away from in-person learning for our school during this period was not an easy one to make, however we have and will continue to keep student and staff safety as our highest priority. We appreciate your cooperation and continued flexibility.”

The district tracks and publishes metrics for COVID-19 on a chart available through the Reopening Plan site.

Updated on a weekly basis, the most recent posting from April 5 - April 11 showed a total of 21 positive cases of COVID-19 among students and staff across the district, with 18 student and three staff cases.

The chart also showed 140 cases of healthy quarantine with no symptoms, where cases are either self-reported, parent-reported, or tracked by the district through contact tracing. Of the 140 cases, 134 came from students, and six were reported to be staff.

Data also showed 78 staff and students engaged in symptomatic quarantine, where the individual experienced one or more symptoms of COVID-19. Seventy-one students were classified as in symptomatic quarantine, while seven were reported as staff cases.

The district also tracks the number of confirmed cases with close contact at school. The most recent update showed a total of three cases.