Timber Creek H.S. shifts to online learning due to COVID-19 cases
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County Public Schools announced on Wednesday that all of Timber Creek High School will shift to LaunchED@Home starting Thursday, October 22.
The move comes just one day after Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the closing of schools should be 'off the table.'
The school district reports there were 14 positive COVID-19 cases found and have closed the school out of an abundance of caution. The Florida Department of Health has traced most of these cases back to events in the community that now are impacting the school. Over 200 quarantine letters have been issued.
While the school is closed, the district said that it will be cleaned and disinfected. Face-to-face students and staff members will return to campus on Thursday, November 5th.
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In addition, the Department of Health will reportedly offer free COVID-19 testing at the school exclusively for Timber Creek High School students and staff. Families are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.
There will also be no athletic events, extracurricular, or co-curricular activities with the exception of varsity football, the district said. They explained that "all football players, coaches, and trainers have tested negative during their last round of testing and have since remained in their learning cohort."
DeSantis made it clear Tuesday he doesn't want a repeat of the school closures that forced kids into online learning this year due to the pandemic.
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“Going forward, whatever the future may hold, school closures should be off the table,” he said. "They don't do anything to mitigate COVID. But they do cause catastrophic damage to the physical, mental, and social well-being of our youth. Let's not repeat any mistakes of the past."
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