Lowell Middle School to Move to Remote Learning for Two Weeks After COVID-19 Diagnoses

Lowell Area Schools sent the following email to all parents in the district this afternoon:

Dear Families,

Due to recent positive COVID-19 test results at the Middle School and the extent of possible student and staff contact, the Kent County Health Department has recommended that we close the Middle School building for in-person instruction and move to remote learning on Wednesday, October 7. In-person instruction will resume on Wednesday, October 21st. All Middle School sports will also be canceled during this time. Mr. Dan VanderMeulen will send out further communication regarding remote learning.

All Middle School students should have chromebooks to access instruction. For those who need internet access, there are remote access points at the following locations in our community:

• Middle School parking lot
• Alto Elementary parking lot
• Wittenbach Center
• High School stadium parking lot
• Kent District Library parking lots – Englehart and Alto branches

Closing the Middle School will give the Kent County Health Department the necessary time to contact any student that may have come in contact with those who have tested positive. This will also allow us to slow any additional spread. We continue to partner with the Kent County Health Department and follow their guidelines and requirements. We will also thoroughly clean and disinfect the school building while staff and students are not present.

Please monitor your child for the onset of symptoms related to COVID-19. If you notice any change in the health of your child, please contact your family’s medical provider. We will keep you updated on this situation and provide updates. We wish everyone affected a speedy recovery and strongly urge all our families to stay home, if quarantined, and all students reduce social contacts with friends during this period of remote learning.

If you have further questions specific to virtual learning, please contact the Middle School. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we deal with this unprecedented situation. These are difficult times, but I am confident that the Lowell community will work through this together.

Sincerely,

Nate Fowler
Interim Superintendent