This article was written special for IdahoEdNews.org and IdahoPress.com.
Twelve Vallivue Middle School staff members will be quarantined for 14 days following a possible exposure to COVID-19 during a district meeting. They will miss the first two days of school.
The 12 staff members participated in a Child Study team meeting at Vallivue Middle School on Aug.13, according to Superintendent Pat Charlton. Following the meeting, one staff member tested positive for the virus.
“It was a mistake to hold a large meeting in a room that did not allow for adequate social distancing,” Charlton said in an email. “The room was not large enough to allow for everyone to be more than six feet away from each other.”
Special education teachers, a school psychologist, counselors, parents and an administrator were possibly exposed, Charlton said.
The district sent an email to teachers Tuesday notifying them of the possible exposure and that 12 staff members are in quarantine.
Vallivue students start school Aug. 25 in a hybrid teaching model where they split the week learning online at home and in-person at school. Substitutes will fill classes on the first two days for those teachers in quarantine.
“This illustrates how just one positive case of COVID-19 can affect an entire school and how it can be difficult for schools to stay open once they start having positive cases,” Charlton said.