Hempfield schools to go remote in week following Thanksgiving break

All schools in the Hempfield Area School District will move to remote learning next week following the Thanksgiving break, according to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki.

Students will attend remote classes Dec. 1-4. Schools are expected to reopen Dec. 7.

The decision to temporarily close schools came after an influx of coronavirus cases were reported in the district. According to the district’s covid-19 tracker, there were 35 cases between staff and students for the period between Nov. 11-25. That’s an increase from 29 cases reported across district schools for the period of Nov. 9-23.

Cases include:

• Three students at Fort Allen Elementary,
• Two staffers at Maxwell Elementary,
• One staffer at Stanwood Elementary,
• Two students and two staffers at West Point Elementary,
• 17 students and one staffer at Hempfield Area High,
• Two students and two staffers at Harrold Middle,
• One student at Wendover Middle, and

• Two staffers among administrators, bus drivers, maintenance workers or food service workers.

Several presumptive cases were also reported, including four students at the high school, one student at Harrold and two students at Wendover. West Hempfield elementary and middle schools did not have any confirmed or presumptive cases.

The decision to move to remote learning came in the days after officials said students at the high school and Harrold would return to online learning following the break. At the time, Wolicki attributed the decision to a shortage of staff due to positive cases and several being identified as close contacts.

According to Wolicki, districts in a county at the “substantial” level of coronavirus transmission must move to fully remote learning or close individual schools based on the number of cases, per guidance by the state Department of Education. Westmoreland County has been in the “substantial” category since mid-October.

A county is considered to have substantial transmission level with at least with at least 100 positive covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Westmoreland this week had a rate of 321.2 — its highest to date, according to the state’s covid-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.

“I thank you for your understanding as we work to continue to provide education for all students within a safe environment for all students and staff,” Wolicki said in a letter to parents.