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As a result of a rising number of positive COVID-19 cases within the school, Albemarle Middle will be transitioning to remote learning for the rest of the week beginning Tuesday, according to Hope Miller-Drye, administrative and school board assistant.

With the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and professional days scheduled for next week, Albemarle Middle students will return to in-person learning Jan. 20.

The decision was made in consultation with with the Stanly County Health Department. It is the only school that will be going to remote learning this week, Miller-Drye said.

Students who attended school Monday have been issued a Chromebook and charger. Students who are quarantined or isolated may have a parent or guardian pick up their Chromebook from the school between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday

Stanly County Schools encourages parents to contact the district if their child has been exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19. They can call the school system’s hotline at 704-961-5910 to report this information.

As of the last week before the Christmas holiday, the district reported more than 800 students and staff quarantined, and more than 50 who had tested positive. For AMS, 36 students and one staff member were quarantined while three students were positive.

In an interview last week, Superintendent Jarrod Dennis told the SNAP that with so many students and staff missing time due to COVID, remote learning could become a temporarily possibility for certain classes.

“If it gets to the point to where we don’t have enough staff or if it’s a safety issue where we don’t have enough coverage, you may have classes that have to go virtual,” Dennis said.