New school Covid cases crop up, reported by public

Cases at Peirce, Brackett, Arlington High and Gibbs were disclosed to limited audience.

Town residents continue to disclose cases of Covid-19 in the Arlington Public Schools that top officials have not widely reported — at Peirce, Brackett, Arlington High and Gibbs.

A resident told YourArlington this week that an Arlington parent reported positive case at Peirce School on Nov. 13, requiring at least one kindergarten hybrid to go remote for two weeks.

The parent told YourArlington on Nov. 23: “I don’t know about whether any K classes all had to quarantine, I just know my two [children] did, but the rest of their classes were still in during their in-person days. My children are in separate classrooms, so they may have been exposed at another time like recess or at the after school program.”

An email from Peirce Principal Andrew Ahmadi sent to parents Nov. 12, but not to the general public, said:

“I am writing this evening to share that a Peirce School community member has tested positive for Covid-19. Through quick actions, we have identified close contacts and notified those staff and students who will remain at home for 14 days from their last contact.

“If you did not receive a communication from me and/or an APS nurse, your student is not a close contact at school in this case. We will continue to employ consistent expectations and mitigation strategies to prevent Covid-19: mask wearing, frequent hand washing, and social distancing.

“Please continue to support one another, as we always do, and know that as situations like this arise, we will respond accordingly and keep the students at the heart of all that we do. To close, school remains a safe place for students to learn. Our facilities team will continue to apply electrostatic disinfectant treatments to our classrooms and we will continue to do the very best that we can to keep everyone safe and learning. I wish everyone a nice evening.”

Reported to Peirce parents only

The Peirce case was reported to Peirce parents three days after Superintendent Kathleen Bodie provided to YourArlington the school administration’s most complete accounting of cases this fall, from September to November. In that listing, Bodie reported that as of Nov. 9, “255 tests, all negative.”

The newly disclosed case was reported as Covid has spiked in Arlington, adding 178 cases in town from Oct. 14 to Nov. 27 (these numbers are updated weekdays). 

Then on Nov. 22, in an email to parents but not to the general public, Bodie, wrote: “I write to inform you that through the APS Covid-19 testing program for staff, that one person at Brackett tested positive for Covid-19. There were also 346 negative test results. Close contacts, which were very few, have been notified that they will need to quarantine for 14 days following Department of Health guidelines.

“We have been fortunate that there were no positive cases in the previous two rounds of in-district testing. Also, there has been zero evidence of Covid-19 transmission in our schools this fall.

“There have been two other positive Covid-19 cases recently. A high school student, who is remote this semester, tested positive. Additionally, a staff member at Gibbs, who had very few close contacts in the school, tested positive, but not through our testing program. Both the staff member and close contacts were asked to quarantine for 14 days.”

Reporting to state

Until Nov. 4, the school administration had not reported Covid cases to the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, YourArlington learned via a parent source. The administration is now doing so.

Between Nov. 11 and 18, the school administration reported to the state one case, and in the Nov. 25 state report two cases. See the numbers in this link >> and then download the file, click on tab 2 and search for Arlington.

A parent source also wrote Nov. 23 that Peirce was “remote last week, and the entire district is remote this week due to a union request (the week before Christmas break will also be remote).”

AEA comment

Asked to comment about that, Julianna Keyes, AEA president, responded Nov. 25: “In our reopening Memorandum of Agreement, the School Committee and Arlington Education Association agreed that all classes would be remote in the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Winter Break.

“This prevents students in the B group (who attend in-person on Thursday and Friday) from missing their live instruction those weeks. It also allows staff and students to be Covid tested and quarantine for a week if they are going to be spending holidays with higher risk family members. We are very happy that there has been no Covid-19 spread in schools in Arlington and are proud that the district has taken proactive measures to keep everyone safe.”

One of the resident sources directed comment toward the administration: “The lack of coherent, consistent, and prompt Covid-19 messaging from the school department continues to be alarming. In lieu of Bodie, Arlington’s health department should be updating residents since Covid infections are a community-wide concern.”

The town Health Department has been reporting Covid data weekdays since March  — and YourArlington has kept a running tally.

Questions to the town about school Covid cases are typically referred to Bodie for comment.

‘No evidence of community spread’

In her latest newsletter, issued Nov. 24, Bodie writes:

“I am proud of the way our students, teachers, staff, administrators, and families are stepping up to find new ways of teaching and learning while staying safe. While there have been a few times that a class or learning community has had to go fully remote for two weeks due to positive Covid tests, I am happy to report that there has been no evidence of community spread within our schools. As you read the articles below, you will see that we are continuing our focus on social emotional learning, antiracism, and equity and inclusion professional development for our teachers, staff, and administrators.”

Nov. 18, 2020: Bodie provides a fuller account of staff Covid testing in public schools

Nov. 7, 2020: Resident’s concern uncovers Covid-reporting lapse

This news summary was published Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. YourArlington is not reporting the names of parent sources for privacy reasons. Tips from any resident about Covid-19 cases are welcome. All will be verified before reporting.