NATICK, MA — After a two-week remote learning hiatus, Natick High School students will begin returning to the school building on Tuesday under a hybrid model, according to the school’s calendar.
The high school switched to virtual learning on Sept. 28 after students either held or attended large gatherings — some as big as 50 people — after they were exposed to coronavirus.
“Students who were required to quarantine due to exposure as close contacts to infected individuals while involved in activities outside of school and outside of Natick, attended and/or hosted parties with numerous students over the past two weekends despite orders from the Board of Health to quarantine,” Superintendent Anna Nolin said in a letter to parents two weeks ago.
The gatherings involved students from the cohorts that are being used for hybrid learning, which meant all students had to learn online for a two-week quarantine period.
Since the beginning of school on Sept. 14, seven Natick students have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the district. Four of those cases were in Natick High School students, and two were detected following the Sept. 28 closure.
The district’s latest coronavirus update released Friday showed a case each at Bennett-Hemenway and Johnson elementary schools, but no new cases among high school students.
Natick High School was one of several schools in the area that switched to fully online learning due to student parties. The Dover-Sherborn School District made the move after a party involving up to 150 students in early September. Sudbury police are pursuing charges against a student and two parents after a party that forced Lincoln-Sudbury High School to go remote in September.