By JEFF TIRRELL

(NORTHFIELD) — The Pioneer Valley Regional School District has announced that the middle and high school will shift to a remote learning model starting tomorrow after a positive case of Covid-19 was detected at the school. A return to the hybrid learning model is expected by Monday, November 2. A letter from the school administration has been sent to families in the district towns explaining the situation.

Both Northfield Elementary School and Bernardston Elementary School will continue with the hybrid model at this time. In the meantime, plans are in place to sanitize Pioneer Regional, inform families whose students were at risk of exposure, and lend support to those families.

The letter that was sent by the administration is below:

Positive COVID-19 Case: Letter to All Families 
Dear Parents, Caregivers, and Guardians,
I am writing to inform you that a person in our school community has tested positive for COVID-19. Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. The positive case has been identified at the Pioneer Valley Regional School, so we have made the decision to shift the middle and high school to a remote learning model for all students starting tomorrow Tuesday, October 20, 2020 with an expected return back to our hybrid model on Monday, November 2, 2020. Both Northfield Elementary and Bernardston Elementary schools will remain open in the hybrid model during this time. We have been planning for this scenario during our reopening planning process and have a comprehensive plan in place to continue sanitizing the school, inform families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected family as they navigate this stressful experience.
Our student body and staff have been closely adhering to the safety protocols including mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing. We are grateful to our families for their continued efforts to keep students’ home at the first sign of symptoms. These measures, taken in combination, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission. Our county and region remain an area of very low transmission, and it is for this reason that we are moving forward with a progressive measure to reduce any chance of transmission within our school and community.
Though we cannot provide specific information about our school community member who tested positive, we can confirm that the exposure to the positive case happened outside of school and is not associated with any school sponsored activities. Parents of students who were in close contact (defined as being within 6 feet of the person for at least 15 minutes) with the community member will be notified privately.
We are following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 to please report the results to the school nurse, Carla Simpson, at (413)498-2931 x136 or via email at simpsonc@pvrsdk12.org.  We are working hard to understand the impact of the virus on our school community and this information is a critical piece of that puzzle.
For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-.
You can also find a map of testing sites at https://memamaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=eba3f0395451430b9f631cb095febf13. Please contact us immediately should you or someone in your home begin to show symptoms.
During this remote learning time, all after school activities including sports, are cancelled and will resume on November 2, 2020. Our food service director will be sending a follow up email later today regarding food distribution to Pioneer students during this time.
We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families.  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact PVRS Principal Kevin Burke at burkek@pvrsdk12.org or Superintendent Jonathan Scagel’s office at wallacejo@pvrsdk12.org. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely, Jonathan Scagel Superintendent of Schools