PUSD Pauses In-Person Groups; 3 High Schoolers Contract COVID-19

Pleasanton CA

01 December, 2020

1:17 PM

Description

PLEASANTON, CA — Amador Valley and Foothill high schools have called off student camps until January after an unknown number of high school students attended a Thanksgiving break get-together where they were exposed to the coronavirus. Three Pleasanton Unified School District students have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, said district spokesperson Patrick Gannon in an email. The gathering was attended by students from Amador Valley, Foothill and Village high schools. It's unclear how many students attended the event, but PUSD is working to contact each family participating in camps and cohort programs, Gannon said. Cohorts and camps have not met since the gathering. PUSD hopes to resume small cohort programs as quickly as possible to serve students who have special needs or are struggling to access distance learning, Gannon said. Cohorts are small, stable groups of students that meet in-person — with precautions in place — to receive additional support. Sports and music camps will remain closed until the end of the semester — three weeks away — on Dec. 18, he said. This date was chosen because the public is asked to isolate for 14 days after COVID-19 exposure, and the last week before break is finals week. Students in multiple camp cohorts and small cohort supervision programs from all three high schools attended the event, said Foothill High Principal Sebastian Bull and Amador Valley High Principal Josh Butterfield in an email. "The decision to close our camps is disheartening. However, due to the choices that were made by students and in the absence of a definitive list of attendees, we must take steps to prioritize the safety of all our students and staff in these programs," the principals wrote. "It's important for each of us to remember that our ability to hold in-person camps and cohorts largely depends on the choices and actions made by the members of our community." Bull and Butterfield encouraged families to wear masks, wash hands often and refrain from close interactions with people outside of their households. He urged people to review the latest holiday gathering guidelines "and to make choices that keep your families and our greater school community safe."