Quarantine is no excuse to stop the learning.

The Warren County School District had a quick introduction to COVID-19.

Administrators were notified of a case involving the district on the evening following the first day of school.

They knew it was coming and had had months to prepare.

Students and staff who test positive will be isolated. Those determined to have had close contact with people who test positive will be quarantined.

The educational process for students who are unable to attend due to isolation or quarantine will continue.

“All of the students should have a smooth transition from brick-and-mortar to working virtually from home,” Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Eric Mineweaser said.

“Any student who was in Option No. 1 (in-person schooling) for sixth through 12th grade is already loaded into our Microsoft Teams core content classes — ELA, math, science, and social studies,” Mineweaser said. “Any Option No. 1 student who has a specials course — art, music, computer, etc. — they are loaded into our virtual courses which utilize the Virtual Academy platform.”

“The reason we loaded Option No. 1 students already was for situations like this,” he said. “Whether we have an individual, a group, or an entire school (or district) that would need to quarantine, we’d be ready to deliver instruction.”

Not all classes can be delivered through Teams or the Virtual Academy.

“The only classes that are not run live include physical education — all but Health 9, First Aid/CPR, and Outdoor Adventures — all our Technology Education classes, and two Family Consumer Science courses — Sewing and Crafts and Fashion Merchandising,” he said. For those classes, “we’ll have the teachers email the students their assignments using their school district student email.”

Although there is a physical change in location, the students are not reassigned as Option No. 3 (following their normal class schedule at home through technology.

“Students quarantining are still considered Option No. 1 students but will temporarily use the Option No. 3 model until they are able to come back to school,” Mineweaser said.

The district is ready and the transition can take place immediately, in many cases.

“Our goal is to ensure that the students who are to quarantine don’t miss much of their education while being out,” he said.

When a quarantine happens, administrators and teachers will work with families to provide for the pick-up of the students’ materials, including laptops and, if needed, hotspots.

Students with technology issues are asked to contact ithelp@wcsdpa.org with any technology issues.

Teachers will have updated class rosters and will make sure students have what they need to continue their education at home.

Students will have to be “at school” at the usual time, though attending in front of a computer at home.

For students who were already in Option No. 3, nothing will change, Mineweaser said.