G-E-T closes high school

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District informed families last Thursday that a staff shortage due to COVID-19 would be forcing the high school to close to in-person instruction until Oct. 19.

As of Friday, the high school had two students and one teacher who have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in 25 students district-wide and eight additional teachers being placed in quarantine. The lack of staffing and available substitutes was what primarily inspired the closure of the high school according to district administrator Michele Butler. The middle and elementary schools will remain open to in-person learning.

Butler added that she was thankful for what the district had achieved so far in the face of challenges posed by rising COVID-19 case numbers in La Crosse County and Trempealeau County.

“Our time together in school has allowed us to establish safety procedures that we will resume when we return to school on Oct. 19,” Butler said. “We have also had time for students and staff to establish relationships which is a crucial factor in student achievement. Furthermore, our staff and students have had the opportunity to practice using our district-wide virtual platform, Microsoft Teams, before having to fully implement its use on a large scale.”

Butler added that she hopes the three weeks off will allow for community spread of COVID-19 to slow before the high school returns to their hybrid in-person learning.

Because the concerns were primarily related to staffing, extracurriculars and athletics will continue as scheduled according to the district. The news came in the same week as the Arcadia School District shut down for two weeks. The Independence, Blair-Taylor and Whitehall districts are monitoring the situation in the county and their districts, but remain open as of Monday.