Scarsdale High School to be Closed on October 23 Due to Another Positive Diagnosis

On October 22, the Scarsdale School community learned of another Covid-19 case in the schools, causing more school closures.

On October 15, Quaker Ridge Elementary School closed for the day when two students reported being symptomatic after exposure to a Covid positive person. Subsequent testing revealed that the students were not positive, and the school re-opened the following day.

Then on Saturday October 17, following a PSAT test at Scarsdale High School, the district learned that an individual who administered the test had tested positive for the virus after proctoring the test in the school’s cafeteria. The 80 people in the room were ordered to quarantine for 14 days by the Westchester County Department of Health.

Now, just five days later, Scarsdale High School will shift to remote learning on Friday October 23 to allow an investigation by the Department of Health. Contact tracing is in process and anyone who has been in close contact with the individual who tested positive on October 22 will also have to quarantine for 14 days.

Here is the email from the district.

Dear Scarsdale Schools Community,

We learned this afternoon that an individual at Scarsdale High School has tested positive for Covid-19. Once we became aware of this, we immediately enacted our Confirmed Case Protocol. As per this protocol, all students and staff members who have been in close contact with the infected individual have been notified and will be in quarantine for 14 days from the point of last exposure. The Department of Health has been notified and has initiated an investigation and the contact tracing process. If you have not been contacted directly and told to quarantine, this means that you are not a close contact and are not directly impacted at this time. For reference, instructions for quarantine can be found here.

As per our protocol, Scarsdale High School will shift to remote learning tomorrow, Friday, October 23, in order to allow the Department of Health to investigate. All morning and afternoon classes in the hybrid schedule will meet virtually tomorrow according to that schedule. All sports and any other in-person activities are canceled for this afternoon (Thursday, October 22) and tomorrow (Friday, October 23). Athletic practices and contests planned for Saturday will continue as scheduled. At this time, we plan to open SHS on a regular, hybrid schedule on Monday as contact tracing should be completed and appropriate staff and students will be quarantined. We will not communicate further this week unless those plans should change or there is significant additional information to share.

Finally, it is important to note that one of our objectives is to determine if this case resulted from the transmission of the virus within the school setting, or from transmission outside the school setting. Doing so will better inform our decision-making process and assist us in minimizing the transmission of Covid-19. If you have any questions, please contact your school nurse or building administration.

Sincerely,

Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Superintendent of Schools