COVINGTON, LA – On Thursday, school leadership at St. Scholastica Academy announced that in light of there being two cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the school community and the current rate of community spread in St. Tammany Parish, the school would be modifying its schedule for the upcoming weeks.
Beginning next week, the all-girls high school in Covington will have classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays with Wednesdays reserved for weekly cleaning and professional development.
There will be no classes, either virtual or in-person, on campus tomorrow, Friday, August 14.
Although the cases are a result of community spread and not a result of spread within the school, the adjustments to the schedule will allow for extensive, regular cleaning of the campus and an ongoing review of health and safety measures.
In a letter to school families, St. Scholastica Academy Head of School, Sheri Gillio, expressed gratitude to the students, faculty, and staff for their commitment to safely returning to campus. She went on to write, that the school is now working with Children’s Hospital and pledged to make any adjustments based on their recommendations.
To accommodate the four day a week schedule, the school will move to what they refer to as a modified Blue/White schedule with four classes meeting per day with a shortened lunch period. This will allow fewer class changes while accommodating all students on campus. Students will remain at home and no instruction, either virtual or in-person, will take place on Wednesdays. According to Gillio, these measures will be in place for the next three weeks with the goal of resuming a regular five day a week schedule starting Tuesday, September 8.
In closing the letter, Gillio wrote, “We appreciate your understanding as we continue to navigate a rather difficult school year. We ask that you continue to pray for the health and safety of our school community.”
St. Scholastic Academy reopened with a staggered start on August 6 and 7. As of August 13, two cases in the school community had been reported that required 14 day quarantines of 45 members of the school community.