Rural Idaho school employee hospitalized, 70 students sent into quarantine
This story first appeared on IdahoEdNews.com on Tuesday, Aug. 25. It was updated the morning of Aug. 26.
One week after allowing students back into the classroom, the Mackay School District will move instruction completely online.
“Due to additional reported COVID cases in our community, and the impact on school operations, we believe it is in the best interest of our students, their families, and our staff to move to remote learning,” Superintendent Susan Buescher announced on the district’s webpage Tuesday night.
Mackay students will learn from home until Sept. 8, Buescher said.
Buescher told EdNews Monday that at least two staff members and a student had tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks — and that at least 70 students and 3 teachers had been in quarantine.
Mackay stuck with an in-person model after learning of the cases, but Buescher said Monday that another positive test in the district would “probably” prompt leaders to shift instruction for its roughly 220 students to a fully online model.
Buescher did not say whether the district had learned of another confirmed case in the district by Tuesday, prompting the move to online learning.
The shift to remote learning also means all extracurricular activities are temporarily on hold, Buescher said.
Mackay has a population of about 500 people and is located some 80 miles northwest of Idaho Falls.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 3:20 PM.
