A teacher in two south Fulton middle schools was confirmed with the coronavirus today, leading the district to release those schools early and close all schools Tuesday.
The teacher taught at Bear Creek and Woodland Middle Schools, both of which were dismissed at 2 p.m. In addition, Creekside High School was closed early.
In a press conference, Fulton Superintendent Mike Looney said he dismissed Creekside High School due to its proximity to Bear Creek and the fact the two schools share some staff. In addition, he said many families had children in both schools.
“As a school superintendent, the last thing I want do to is close schools,” said Looney. He said he felt the closings were in the best interest of students and the community, given the risks of the highly contagious and deadly virus.
Looney said he made the decision to close all county schools Tuesday to assess the level of risk, gather more information and sanitize schools.
The affected teacher felt ill at work Friday and 911 was called, said Looney. The teacher was taken to a health facility, said Looney.
Looney said the teacher had extensive contact with students and other staff, and that the schools were identifying those students and staff for the Department of Health for follow up. He said the district was not a health agency and medical follow-up would fall to health agencies rather than the schools. There has been no word from the health department on whether the many students and staff with whom the teacher had contact will be asked to self-quarantine.
Fulton learned the teacher tested positive for the virus today at 11 a.m. and dismissed the three schools at 2 in the afternoon.
If your schools were affected and your kids are heading home, please let us know.
If you are willing to talk with us, please call Janel Davis at 770 263-3816 or Ben Brasch at 404 526-2175.
Or email me at mdowney@ajc.com.
We want to know what parents do now with this news. And the staff at those schools.
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