EUREKA, Mo. — A school district in St. Louis County is asking families and students to prepare for the possibility of a short-term return to fully remote learning for students.
This comes as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the St. Louis area.
Rockwood School District Superintendent Dr. Mark Miles sent a letter to families on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Miles said the district is taking precautions to help keep schools safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The district's school nurses and contact tracing teams have been working to identify positive cases and quarantine individuals who may have had close contact while on a school campus.
He added that a 14-day quarantine is a useful tool to protect school community from the virus.
"Unfortunately, the quarantines are resulting in some critical shortages in staffing. If this continues, these shortages may not allow us to support in-person educational services appropriately in the near future. This is why I’m asking our staff and families to join me in preparing for the future possibility of a short-term return to fully remote learning for students. Moving forward, we will look to this possibility for individual classrooms, grade levels or schools to minimize the impact districtwide," Dr. Miles said in part in the email to families.
He added that the district's goal remains the same, which is to have students who have selected in-person learning to continue with that option.
"We also know that changes in plans and schedules this year have been challenging for everyone. This is not what we would desire for our children and their learning experiences," Dr. Miles said.
During a COVID-19 briefing on Monday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said the county could face more restrictions if the region cannot control the spread of the coronavirus.
"Our hospitals are nearly full and our health department is overwhelmed and exhausted," Page said. "Our state and region are setting new records every day."
RELATED: 'The virus is spreading way too quickly' | COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in the St. Louis area
