Acting with an abundance of caution, Supt. Almi Abeyta closed the Clark Avenue School on Wednesday, March 11, over concerns about an adult staff member who had traveled to Italy and wasn’t feeling well.
After a deep-cleaning of the school all day, and further investigation of the staff member, everything was determined to be fine. The school re-opened for classes today, March 12.
“I had asked staff for information if they had traveled to Italy and we could assess if they were a high-risk or a low-risk,” she said. “I was made aware late on Tuesday night about a staff member who had been feeling ill and had traveled to Italy. Out of an abundance of caution and care for our students and staff, I made the decision with the information I had to close school and do a deep cleaning. At the same time, we got more information from the person in question. Today (Wednesday), we’ve been getting more information and are working with the Health Department.”
Abeyta said after further investigation, they decided to re-open today.
“The Clark Avenue School will be open March 12 at the regular time,” she wrote in a statement. “There is no report that any individual at the Clark Avenue Middle School has the COVID-19 virus. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, there is currently no resident in Chelsea with the virus.”
Supt. Abeyta said the Clark Avenue was the only school with such precautions, and there currently are no plans to take the same precautions at any other school right now.