All Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) middle and high schools will move to virtual instruction for the rest of this week due to impacts from coronavirus cases, the district announced Tuesday.

“In light of immediate staffing challenges facing the school district in key areas, like noon duty aides, bus drivers, and guest teachers, and due to the need to provide adequate time for health department officials to complete contact tracing related to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the community, all TCAPS middle schools and high schools will move to remote learning for the remainder of the week,” Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner wrote in an email to parents.

The news means that East Middle School, West Middle School, Central High School, West Senior High School, and Traverse City High School students will begin remote learning on Wednesday and continue on a remote schedule through Friday. Meals will be available for pick-up during the designated lunch time on the remote schedule at each building. All TCAPS elementary schools will remain open and continue to hold school in-person. As an ongoing precaution, district schools, buildings, buses, and common areas continue to be cleaned and disinfected frequently. 

“At this time, transmission of COVID-19 does not appear to be increasing as a result of schools reopening, however, increases in positive case numbers in the community are beginning to impact the ability of schools to continue to operate face-to-face. In order to help prepare, families are encouraged to plan for possible remote learning days or for an extended remote learning period should the COVID-19 data and trends in the Grand Traverse area continue to climb and additional action need to be taken. Further, with recent increases in positive cases across the region and upcoming holidays on the horizon, health officials and school leaders are urging families to limit social gatherings, encourage mask wearing, maintain social distancing whenever possible, and to use proper hygiene in order to help reduce the spread of the virus in the community,” VanWagoner wrote.

Students and staff members will be notified directly if they are identified as a close contact to a positive COVID-19 case and need to stay home and quarantine or take additional health measures. If a student or staff member is not contacted by the Health Department, it means that the student or staff member was not identified as a close contact of the person who tested positive.