With more than half of its 310 students and 46 staff in COVID-19 quarantine, Rockport Elementary School in Spencer County is entering its second week of virtual instruction.
The school -- part of the South Spencer School Corporation -- has been in all virtual instruction since Aug. 17, Principal Rick Hunt said.
About 40% of the students quarantined were identified as close contacts, he said. Less than 5% of the total student body have been confirmed positive for COVID.
However, Hunt said about 25% of the school's total staff have been confirmed positive and 50% of its staff have been in quarantine.
"At the onset of school we only had a couple cases but with this delta variant (of the COVID-19 virus), it seems to have spread out more rapidly, even with masks," he said. "We are seeing some in-school transmission this year, which is something we didn't see last year."
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Hunt said Rockport completed the 2020-21 school year with "100% face-to-face learning." However, he said with more than 50% of students and faculty out and knowing that there had already been some transmission between students, he said school officials believed it was necessary to keep all students home for awhile.
"We all let our guard down over the summer," he said.
When students return to in-school classes on Aug. 30, Hunt said, stricter personal distancing and masking procedures will be enforced. The school has Pre-K through fifth-grade students.
At the opposite side of the county, Lincoln Trail Elementary School in the North Spencer School Corporation also has experienced a significant impact from COVID-19, although not as much as Rockport.
Principal Ben Lawalin said Lincoln Trail has the most confirmed positive cases in that district.
"We are wearing face masks full-time now," he said.
Lawalin said about 4% of the 375 total students were confirmed positive and about 18% to 20% of students have been quarantined.
The school, which has Pre-K to fifth-grade classes, is not currently in virtual instruction.