EAST PROVIDENCE — Superintendent Kathryn Crowley announced early Wednesday morning, Sept. 16, that two student teachers, performing their undergraduate requirements in the district from a local college, have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been removed from their positions at the moment.

The superintendent said the student teachers, one working at Whiteknact Elementary and the other at Hennessey Elementary, received positive results from tests conducted by their school on Tuesday, Sept. 15, the second day of classes in the district at the start of the 2020-21 term. The Rhode Island Department of Health was immediately notified and is no overseeing the matter, she added.

A third student teacher from the same college, scheduled to work at Kent Heights Elementary but who had yet to be in the building, was tested and returned a negative result. All three aspiring teachers are now self-quarantining for a period of 14 days.

The same is also true for 17 students in a second grade class at Whiteknact and three teachers there. They will all take part in the distance learning program being run concurrently with in-person classes. No pupils, but two instructors from Hennessey in contact with the student teacher there will likewise self-quarantine and participate via distance learning.

Of the situation as a whole, Superintendent Crowley said, “We are under the guidance of RIDOH and we’re following their guidelines and procedures.”

In accordance, the superintendent said letters explaining the situation were sent to parents and staff members at the district schools.

Upon receiving the positive result, the RIDOH began contact tracing with the student teachers.

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