Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice today issued the following update to school families:

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

For November 12th and 13th, Bedford/Coleytown Middle School and Staples High School will be operating through a full remote teaching model for all students and staff. The principals will be sending further information this evening about the schedules for both days.

The decision to move our secondary schools to a remote model for two days came as a result of several individuals testing positive and the subsequent need to quarantine many individuals and continue contact tracing. Due to the number of quartainted staff members, we are unable to appropriately staff our secondary buildings and supervise our students.

As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 12 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the following schools, including 5 new cases in the past few hours:

• Coleytown Elementary School - 2
• Greens Farms Elementary School - 2
• Kings Highway Elementary School - 1
• Bedford/Coleytown Middle School - 2
• Staples High School - 5

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice today issued the following update to school families:

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

This evening we were made aware of two individuals at Staples High School who tested positive for COVID-19. The affected persons will be excluded from the school environment and have been instructed to quarantine at home. 

Upon learning of the positive COVID-19 case, the Westport Public Schools conducted initial contact tracing. Those determined to be “close contacts” are defined as individuals who were within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24 hour period, starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling ill or 48 hours prior to a positive test of an asymptomatic individual. It has been determined that there were staff members and multiple classes within Staples High School needing to quarantine. Others who have been identified as close contacts outside of school have been notified, and contact tracing will continue through the Westport/Weston Health District.

The school district administration is required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding student and employee confidentiality and privacy.  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) precludes sharing the identity of an individual, with the exception of sharing the individual’s identity with a public health agency (e.g., Westport/Weston Health District).  In addition, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the school district from publicly sharing personally identifiable information derived from student education records.

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice today issued the following update to school families:

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

This afternoon, Mrs. Janna Sirowich, Principal of Coleytown Elementary School, was made aware of an individual in the school who tested positive for COVID-19. The affected person will be excluded from the school environment and has been instructed to quarantine at home. 

Upon learning of the positive COVID-19 case, the administration began immediate contact tracing. Those determined to be “close contacts”, including the health office staff at Coleytown Elementary School, have been notified. These individuals spent a significant amount of time in the presence of the positive case, and as a result, were informed that they will be excluded from the school environment and recommended to quarantine for 14 days from the date of contact, October 30. Other nursing staff will be assigned to the Coleytown Elementary School health office during the quarantine period.

As I have shared in prior communications of a similar nature, working closely with the Westport/Weston Health District and our medical advisor, it has been confirmed that the staff and students have implemented our mitigating measures by maintaining distance to the maximum extent possible, and by wearing masks. However, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)/Department of Public Health (DPH) guidance (Addendum 5 and Addendum 9) indicates that decisions for exclusion from school and quarantine will be based on the individual circumstances of each case, including those who have spent a significant amount of time (i.e. more than 15 minutes) in the presence of a positive case, regardless of mask wearing.