Pittsburgh-area school district moves to remote learning due to increase in flu cases
CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) — The Charleroi Area School District has moved to remote learning after dozens of elementary students got sick with the flu.
In an attempt to reduce the spread of the virus, the elementary, middle and high schools are closed until Monday and all weekend activities are canceled due to the outbreak.
Officials said 81 students at the elementary school went to the nurse's office on Wednesday with flu-like symptoms. Of those, more than 30 were sent home, with some needing to be hospitalized.
"The turning point was when the elementary school nurse had called me yesterday and said she needed to see me immediately. That was approximately 10 a.m," Charleroi Superintendent Ed Zelich said on Thursday.
Zelich said he has not seen anything like this in his 10 years with the district.
"When you get 80 students visiting the office and over 30 are going home prior to noon, we have an issue," he said.
Zelich said it was not just students. He said cooks and custodians in the elementary school went home sick too. When Zelich was notified that many of the sick students tested positive for the flu, he knew he had to act quickly and move students to remote learning.
"We just got our administrative team together and made a decision, and it was a tough decision," Zelich said. "But we know it was the right one to protect our students and our staff."
Zelich said as an educator going through the pandemic, he learned that remote learning is a viable option that was not available before.
He says students can easily pivot to remote learning and back to in-person instruction and not miss a beat.
"We felt that 24 to 48 hours plus the weekend gave us nearly 72 hours," Zelich said. "I believe that at least to catch our breath, to protect our children, to protect our staff and take a look at it, but our goal is to be back on Monday."
A nurse at the elementary school advises parents to keep their children home if they are sick to help mitigate the spread of the virus. She said now is not the time to worry about attendance.
The school is in the process of deep cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces campus-wide.