Edison High School goes remote after COVID exposures
Students at Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis will return to remote learning for a few weeks, after more than two-thirds of the school population was exposed to COVID-19.
Edison is currently the only Minneapolis high school going back to distance learning. The building will be closed until Oct. 6.
Associate superintendent Rochelle Cox says all parents received a general notice about the decision to close the school temporarily. Parents of students closely exposed to the virus received an additional notice.
Cox says the school had to first identify which students were affected.
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"We look first at the case. We then get all the students' schedules. We look at seating charts — both in the classroom as well as in lunch periods. We look at transitions. And because of the numerous cases that all became very complicated as we were charting out each student and their close contact,” she said.
Superintendent Ed Graff says it's not clear how so many students were exposed to the virus. He says Edison already follows a number of measures that help prevent the spread of COVID-19. That includes social distancing, which can be challenging.
“That particular one is difficult for us because as we bring our students back into school all in person, we have less space in our buildings,” Graff said.
The first full day of remote learning for Edison students starts Thursday.