Back to School

WARREN, Pa. – After nearly seven weeks away, Warren County School District students return to their classrooms Tuesday.

WCSD has, with some exceptions, been in remote learning for students since Dec. 9 due to staffing shortages stemming from COVID-19.

Superintendent Amy Stewart explained the situation during the WCSD Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 11.

“If someone is a confirmed positive, they isolate,” Stewart said. “Those folks that are close contacts have to quarantine.”

According to Stewart, since the beginning of the school year, the district has had 53 employees who have had to isolate and 145 who have had to quarantine.

“We had five positives between the start of school and Thanksgiving,” Stewart said. “Between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, we had 43. And now coming back from the New Year, we have five.”

Nearly 70 percent of district employees received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine through Warren General Hospital.

“Warren General did our first round of administrations and, I believe, it was (approximately) 460 out of 600 (employees),” Stewart said during Monday’s WCSD committee meetings. “It was right around 70 percent of our employees. The second vaccine will be scheduled for the middle of February.”

The district did allow some exceptions to remote learning. Some students in Warren County Career Center classes still attended in-person instruction, as did some of the special needs students. Those who didn’t have sufficient internet service to allow for remote instruction were able to enter school buildings in order to gain internet access.