MUSD to close middle school as quarantine limits teachers

Numbers of COVID-19 cases had been creeping up recently at Maricopa Wells Middle School. Today, the school district opted to close the school from Tuesday, Nov. 17 through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Students will return to distance learning through Nov. 24. Thanksgiving break begins Nov 25. Students are due to return to campus on Nov. 30.

The number of cases has directly impacted the number of exposed staff, causing more quarantines.

“Due to the current number of quarantined staff, we are unable to provide adequate adult supervision to support in-person learning,” Mariopa Unified School District announced Monday. “Although we believe this closure will minimize risk to students and staff, the decision to close is administrative. Therefore, students who are not quarantined due to direct exposure may continue to participate in any outside activities.”

MUSD stated after-school tutoring will continue remotely on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

MWMS had three reported cases in a week’s time. MUSD has reported 31 cases of COVID since August.

The closure of MWMS comes a day after Maricopa High School returned from a two-week closure, also caused by a shortage of staff due to quarantine.