Just as COVID-19 cases ramping up in the nation, Pleasant Valley School District’s new superintendent, Lee Lesisko, started his new job. So much for easing in slowly.

He made it his policy to be transparent with the community about the number of COVID-19 cases in the school, even to the point of placing a weekly COVID update on the school district’s website.

With the announcement of the first case on Sept. 27, Lesisko said, “We do not want people to panic. We’re doing everything we need to do.”

A teacher at the high school had tested positive.

Soon after on Oct. 2, a second teacher at the high school tested positive, as well as two teachers at the Monroe Career and Technical Institute. By Oct. 8, the high school was closed for in-person classes until Oct. 13.

As cases continued to grow across the state and nationwide, the number of cases at Pleasant Valley grew, too. By mid-December, 12 students and staff members tested positive among all four school buildings. There were four new cases among students at the high school, two students at the middle school, three students at the intermediate school, and three staff members at the elementary school, and 20 cases the prior week.

Moving online

Lesisko decided that classes would move online fully for the students in the high school, and would reopen to hybrid on Jan. 4. He continued to urge everyone to wear masks, socially distance at least 6 feet apart, and wash their hands.

Within days, more cases cropped up and online learning was extended to Jan. 8 for the high school students with the middle school being added to the group.

The elementary school moved to full online a day before holiday break was to begin. Five staff members and two students tested positive for COVID-19. Another 22 staff members had to quarantine, because of exposure to them.

“I would rather have the kids in class two times a week than not at all,” Lesisko said, but he couldn’t keep in-person classes open when there weren’t enough teachers available to be in the classrooms.

With every case, the state Department of Health has been involved and conducted contact tracing. Lesisko said the data has shown that transmission of the virus is occurring in the community, not within the schools.

“We can’t stop people from interacting,” he said recently.

Newest cases

Since the holiday break began, several custodians at the elementary and intermediate schools have tested positive. On Monday, a security guard also tested positive.

Lesisko said the custodians continue to follow the safety plan set up by the district last summer. They clean the schools every day during the week, and deep clean on Wednesdays when no students are in the buildings.

Even though so many testing positive recently, the district was able to have enough custodians and substitute to cover, because it was during the holiday break, he said. If school was in session, then it would be a different story.

In-person classes are set to resume Jan. 4.

“I’m hoping the elementary and intermediate schools will reopen,” he said. “As of now, we’re OK.”

Staff members who are too sick to come in on Monday are supposed to call Sunday night.

“I’m hoping we have enough teachers to teach our students,” he said. “We’ll deal with whatever Mother Nature gives us.”

Lesisko continues to be optimistic that everything will turn out fine, but he is concerned that January will be a dark month.

In the meantime, he’s hoping news will come soon about when the vaccine will be available for teachers and staff.