School District In Los Gatos Back In-Person After COVID Outbreak

LOS GATOS, CA — A semi-rural school district in Los Gatos returned to in-person learning Wednesday after a COVID-19 outbreak closed campus last week.

The Loma Prieta Joint Union School District, which has 432 students combined at an elementary school and a middle school along the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, shut down last Friday after several positive cases were discovered among students and staff over the course of the week.

Superintendent Kevin Grier announced Tuesday that after testing 70 percent of its students and all tests returning negative, the district would return to in-person instruction Wednesday. Grier encouraged students who haven’t been rapid tested yet to do so before school on Wednesday.

The district plans to conduct free weekly testing of all students beginning next week. It also announced modifications to its COVID-19 practices that include using outdoor spaces, greater use of seating charts, reducing the time for lunch and encouraging students to let their parents know if they feel sick.

Grier also announced that the district is expected to host a vaccination clinic on Nov. 1, allowing all students over the age of 5 to get vaccinated.