Freeport Area School District has reported a dozen covid-19 cases among students less than a week after the start of the academic year.
The district listed 12 total cases — eight of which were active — on its online covid-19 dashboard Monday morning. According to the dashboard, seven cases were reported in the middle and high schools. Five came from the elementary schools.
All of the cases involved students, according to the district’s website.
Nineteen students are quarantined.
District officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The cases come less than a week into the school year at Freeport Area. Students returned to school on Thursday, and the district’s educational plan calls for them to attend classes in person five days a week.
Masks are optional in school buildings under the district’s health and safety plan, which the school board passed unanimously in mid-August. According to that plan, students who are quarantined because of covid-19 exposure will be able to participate in virtual instruction online.
Freeport Area did keep some covid-19 mitigation measures in place for the start of the school year. Masks are required on buses and parents are asked to conduct daily covid-19 symptom screenings on their children before sending them to school.
District officials said they would try to maintain some level of social distancing in classrooms, though they acknowledged it wouldn’t always be feasible with a full return to in-person instruction. Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols also remained in effect.
This comes as debate continues to rage about how school districts should handle mask policies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended masks for everyone in schools, regardless of vaccination status. But there is no mask mandate for schools, and school policies have varied on whether to require face masks or leave the option up to students and their families.
The district last year was forced to temporarily halt in-person instruction because of covid-19 spikes in the district and surrounding community. At one point during the 2020-21 academic year, the district pivoted to remote instruction for middle and high school students after more than 100 students were quarantined at one time.
