Barnstable Schools Temporarily Going Remote After Thanksgiving

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable Public Schools will switch to fully remote learning for two days after the Thanksgiving break, school officials announced.

The update comes as Barnstable jumped into the state's high risk designation for spread of the coronavirus. The town has had 145 new cases in the last two weeks, though just eight of those cases came from the school community.

Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown said all students will attend school remotely on Monday, Nov. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 1. Wednesday will remain its usual remote day, and students are expected to return to hybrid learning on Thursday, Dec. 3.

Mayo-Brown in a statement said the change is intended to help mitigate COVID-19 spread following Thanksgiving, as some families may be traveling.

"The community spread combined with travel that may be occurring next week is cause for concern," Mayo-Brown said. "The health and safety of our students and staff remain our greatest priority. And, we will continue to make decisions that place health and safety at the forefront."

Mayo-Brown said the change is also a result of an increase in students testing positive for the virus as a result of out of school exposure. As of Tuesday, 28 in-person Barnstable students were in isolation after contracting the coronavirus. A total of 45 students have tested positive since school reopened.

Mayo-Brown said this change is in response to the increase of students testing positive as a result of out of school exposure as well as the amount of travel that will be occurring over the holiday.

Any student that travels to a state designated high-risk by Massachusetts during the Thanksgiving break will be required to present a negative test or quarantine for 14 days before returning to school.