Post-COVID Outbreak, Students Back At Plumstead Christian School

PLUMSTEADVILLE, PA — A COVID-19 outbreak at a local Christian school led to at-home learning for students in the school's upper and lower divisions, after around 30 members of the school community tested positive.

Plumstead Christian School's 6-12 campus in Plumsteadville moved to virtual learning on Nov. 3. Fifteen students and one faculty member had tested positive for COVID-19 at that point, Head of School Patrick Fitzpatrick told Patch.

On Thursday, upper school students returned to in-person learning and a "mandatory all-day mask up."

While the school complies with state COVID-19 guidelines and mandates masking, Head of School Patrick Fitzpatrick told 6ABC this week that a number of students have mask exemptions, in accordance with the state order. Thursday's all-day masking was mandated regardless of mask exemptions — students unable to wear masks were permitted to stay home and attend school virtually.

Fitzpatrick said the lower school faced a different issue: staffing shortages due to positive COVID-19 cases. Eight students, most in the third grade, had tested positive, but six teaching staff members also contracted COVID-19.

"Faculty who were themselves COVID-negative but who had children in the Middle and Upper School division who tested positive for COVID also needed to be quarantined," he wrote. "We closed the Lower School for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week because we were short-staffed not because our COVID numbers among students at that campus hit a critical number, and we began live and in-person schooling for the Kindergarten through 5th graders beginning Monday of this week."

The preschool was also closed this week due to staffing issues, but Fitzpatrick expects the school to reopen on Monday.

"As far as I know," he told 6ABC, "no one has been hospitalized and the COVID sicknesses have been very minor."

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