NORTHAMPTON — The district’s pause on in-person learning has been extended until Jan. 19 due to rising COVID-19 cases in the school community.
Students were originally scheduled to return to in-person learning on Jan. 11, following a pause on in-person learning that had been planned for the holiday season. But the spread of new COVID-19 cases linked to family gatherings has left school officials uncertain that they will have all potentially infectious individuals in quarantine by this original return date, according to Superintendent John Provost.
“We can’t wait for the pandemic to resolve before resuming in-person instruction,” Provost said, “but we need to be able to achieve containment of our local cases by making sure that all potentially infectious individuals are quarantined.”
The cases are not localized to any school in particular, Provost said. Students will continue to learn remotely throughout the pause.
Provost urged the community to follow public health recommendations and refrain from gathering with people outside of their immediate family, adding that “failure of people within our community to heed the public health advice” necessitated the delayed return date.
“That’s the most important thing we can do to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all citizens in Northampton,” Provost said, “and it’s the most important thing we can do to promote the education of children in Northampton.”
Provost is hopeful that the community can band together to protect public health and allow students to return to in-person learning.
“We’re all responsible for the health and safety of each other and the basic level of whether or not our schools will be able to function,” Provost said. “I believe in Northampton, and I believe that the people of Northampton will be able to social distance over the course of the extended pause so that we have the opportunity to reopen schools.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.