Superintendent Dara Chezem announced Monday that the Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation has seen an increase in the impact of COVID-19 on students and staff this year and especially in the last week.  

This has prompted Eastern Pulaski School Corporation to implement new guidelines and a mask requirement starting Wednesday, September 22.

Since school has started, EPCSC has had a total of 527 students and staff quarantined or isolated due to close contact with a positive case.  Some of the students have been in their third quarantine this school year.  Of these quarantines, 71 individuals were positive. 

EPCSC currently has 29 positive cases and 113 quarantined staff and students this week alone. In comparison, last year at this time, they had only 38 positive cases and half the quarantines.

In order to keep more students in the classroom and not interrupt their educational process with more quarantines, the School Board approved  that EPCSC schools comply with the Governor’s executive order with the following guidelines for wearing masks:

     1. All students are required to wear a mask while riding the bus.

     2. All students in grades PK-12 will be required to wear a mask at all times while in a school building with

          the following exceptions:

          a. During times of strenuous exercise such as PE,

          b. During extracurricular sports when the athlete is participating in a competition.

          c. During meal times,

          d. Outdoor recess shall be times when masks are optional.

     3. The corporation will continue to track the number of quarantines/isolations and reevaluate the need for masks.  

Chezem is also asking parents for their cooperation in wearing masks while in EPCSC buildings this week for all in-person parent-teacher conferences.

Arrangements for over-the-phone conferences may be made by request.