25 Mt. Pleasant students now quarantined

MT. PLEASANT - Upward of 25 Mt. Pleasant Middle School students are in quarantine after a student from the school tested positive for the coronavirus, district superintendent John Henriksen confirmed.

With the exception of the student who tested positive, no others have tested positive. All other students are in quarantine after being identified as a close contact, Henriksen said.

The students will be quarantined for 14 days from the last day of exposure to the case in accordance with guidance outlined in the district's return-to-learn plan.

Henriksen said the tentative return date for students is Sept. 9.

The superintendent added the case was the district's 'first experience with students and having to figure out contact tracing.”

Moving forward, the district will be looking at ways to further prevent 'close contact situations.”

'I've asked building principals to go back and talk to faculty and ask, ‘Are there additional mitigation tactics we can do to avoid large groups of kids in close contact?'” Henriksen said.

The superintendent said this includes asking teachers to consider teaching methods that require grouping kids together and examining how schools can further minimize gatherings of large groups of students to 'avoid affecting large swaths of kids,” should there be a positive case.

Henriksen added the district will be looking at potential logistical improvements including the setup of classrooms and how lunch hours are scheduled. Because the district has seven buildings that 'all operate a little bit differently,” Henriksen said he believes building staff and faculty can 'best identify” how to better allow for social distancing and improved mitigation tactics.

'The floor plans are a little different, and the room sizes are different, so we're leaving the discussions with them on how to avoid a situation where a large number of kids are affected,” he said.