CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – All 6th grade students at Northeast Middle School have moved to remote schooling through the end of the week after a staffing problem was caused by COVID-19 cases.
Principal Laura Boss sent out the alert to 6th grade parents Monday night, adding that school was already going to be closed Wednesday in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Boss also said that if the conditions improve regarding staffing, the 6th grade will return to in-person sessions on Monday, Nov. 16.
Tuesday night, at the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board meeting, Director of Schools Millard House talked about the COVID-19 cases in the county schools. There are currently 35 active, student cases and 755 students in quarantine.
House announced that the school system has been green-lighted to do a pilot program of rapid-testing in schools for COVID-19. This would make CMCSS the first school system in the state to do so.
He said that the pilot would be conducted in three CMCSS schools, and whether or not the rapid-tests become available at other schools depends on the success of the original three. The school system has already ordered the tests.
House also cited a study done by the American Academy of Pediatrics, stating that Tennessee is number two in the nation for the most school-age, COVID-19 cases.
He also emphasized that district-wide, pandemic closures are not on the table yet, saying that the rumors circulating were untrue.
Meanwhile, New Providence Middle School is going on its second week of being closed. The school initially closed last week, citing a cluster of COVID-19 cases.