Two Haverhill educators have tested positive for the coronavirus and close contacts will remain out of schools two weeks for precautionary quarantine.
The most visible impact is the absence of Silver Hill School Principal Scott Gray, who was identified by school Superintendent Margaret Marotta as a “close contact” of an administrator at the elementary school who tested positive. She said a teacher at the Dr. Albert B. Consentino School has also tested positive. No students are among the close contacts.
Staff at both Silver Hill and Consentino were briefed Tuesday afternoon. There are only limited staff and students in schools on Wednesdays. Shaun Bateman, assistant principal the John C. Tilton School, will fill in as Silver Hill’s onsite administrator while Gray works remotely.
“One staffer was out of state over the weekend and did not return to the building awaiting a COVID test, which came back positive,” the superintendent said in an email. Marotta said the schools continue to consult with the Public Health Department.
HEA President Anthony J. Parolisi told WHAV the union is “monitoring the situation closely, and relying on our members to make sure to take all precautions to protect themselves, each other as well as their students. The district appears to be doing some aggressive contact tracing which we appreciate.”
The recently negotiated agreement between the union and the schools calls for weekly meetings of a Joint Coronavirus Task Force. Parolisi said there has been no need yet to change current in-person learning since positive test results are “trending downward.”
“It is concerning. People must stay apart six feet and they have to wear their masks,” Marotta told WHAV.