Mt. Pleasant Area School District will keep remote learning through end of semester

Students in the Mt. Pleasant Area School District will continue with remote learning until the end of the semester.

According to a letter posted on the district’s website by Superintendent Timothy Gabauer, it will last until Jan. 21. The decision came as covid-19 cases continue to rise across Westmoreland County.

Another high for covid-19 cases was set Friday, the second straight day a record was set. On Friday, 412 new cases were reported, following Thursday’s 400 case count. That brings the total number of cases in the county to 10,455.

Four new coronavirus-related cases were also reported Friday, bringing the county’s total deaths to 299.

School districts in the county, along with those in Allegheny and Armstrong counties, last week were asked to commit to online learning or affirm they are following the state’s covid-19 guidelines, including social distancing and having students and staff wear face masks.

The directive was announced for all public schools in counties that have experienced a “substantial” level of transmission, or the benchmark determined by state health officials that is reached when there are at least 100 covid cases per 100,000 residents in a county during a one-week period.

At Mt. Pleasant, cases were reported in the high school and at Ramsay Elementary School over the past few weeks, prompting the buildings to close, according to letters posted on the website. In a letter dated Dec. 1, two students and two staffers tested positive at the high school. Two staffers had tested positive at the elementary school, according to a Nov. 27 letter.

A total number of cases across the district was not provided.

According to Gabauer, additional information will be provided for when students can pick up materials from their school buildings.

“I urge everyone to look after each other and support one another as we continue through what is predicted to be the most challenging time period of the pandemic,” Gabauer said.