Superintendent Bob Gerardi gave a Covid update to the School Committee at its December 20 meeting and discussed the decision to switch to distance learning for the last week of school before Christmas break. He reported that nurses Liz Dyer and Linda Closter had performed 134 PCR Covid tests, as well as 180 rapid Covid tests, and he also said they expected to perform 50 more tests in the coming days. Unfortunately, multiple cases of Covid have been discovered across the various student pods. Additionally, several cases were reported in the adult population of the island in recent days.
The school medical team has been in frequent contact with the Block Island Medical Center, and Gerardi reported that consensus was reached among the medical professionals and the school administration that the best way to safely manage the school, protect the students and staff, and protect the community was to switch to distance learning for the last six days of the term leading into Christmas break.Calling it a “hard decision,” Gerardi said he preferred to keep the kids in school, and had pushed to avoid switching to distance learning. But with the Block Island community experiencing a “third wave