Catholic school in Huntersville shifts to remote learning after COVID cases detected

A Catholic high school in Huntersville proactively shifted to full remote learning this week in an effort to “stay ahead” in the management of COVID-19, according to a letter from the principal.

Christ the King Catholic High School, which enrolls about 340 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the network of Catholic schools in Charlotte, began remote learning Wednesday. It’s expected students will return to in-person instruction next Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Principal Carl Semmler, in a letter to parents the Observer obtained Friday, said while the school had not yet reached the threshold for shifting to remote instruction, the school had 26 positive cases that are spread over multiple classes and grades.

“We believe it is prudent to proactively shift to remote learning to limit any potential virus spread at the school,” Semmler wrote. “We will continue to monitor active cases, quarantines and contact tracing to ensure we have the broadest possible understanding of the situation.”

All after-school, extracurricular and athletic practices and games have also been postponed at Christ the King until at least Wednesday.

Multiple COVID-19 cases have been reported in Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, or MACS. Nine Catholic schools totaling more than 4,500 students are in the Charlotte system.

On Wednesday, Gregory Monroe, the superintendent of MACS, confirmed to parents that one class at an unnamed school had shifted to remote learning when three cases were reported and another class when two cases were reported — “all of which were traced to outside sources of infection,” Monroe wrote.

Another MACS school, K-5 Saint Patrick Catholic School in Charlotte, also responded to COVID cases. Principal Amy Tobergte, in a letter also dated Wednesday, told families there were 10 positive COVID-19 cases “with appropriate quarantines and no school spread or clusters.” Since school began Aug. 18, Saint Patrick has had 11 positive cases with more than 256 students and staff back in the building.

“At this time we will return to limiting volunteers and visitors in the school building,” Tobergte said.

Bucking the mask order

Last month, Monroe butted heads with Mecklenburg County health officials over the mask mandate that went into effect Tuesday.

In a letter, the superintendent told families the county mask order didn’t apply to private schools, and that masks would not be required inside school buildings. After Mecklenburg County health department leaders clarified the order’s intent and revised the language of its mask mandate, Monroe told parents MACS would observe the mandate and require masks indoors.

School leaders, however, have provided parents a mask exemption form that does not require documentation. The form does not list the criteria for an exemption and does not require a signature from a medical provider.

Several parents of children in MACS have reached out to the Observer with concerns that many students are not following the mask mandate.

“My daughter has worn a mask every day at school this year and continues to do so,” parent Erin DeWaters said in an email. “In fact, she wore one every day last year, too, with no issues. We are grateful for masks because they are important public health tools that enable us to continue critical in-person learning. In our family, we also teach that masks are acts of love and kindness that protect those around us.

“I am appalled that MACS sent an exemption form to parents and stressed that no documentation was needed to claim an exemption. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly, cases and hospitalizations increasing — and the reality that young children are unprotected because they cannot yet receive a vaccine — Superintendent Monroe had the opportunity to serve as an example to children, teachers, families and our community and champion the importance of masking up, but he has chosen to do the opposite.”

‘Low risk from COVID’

The day all students at Christ the King began remote learning, Monroe sent a letter to families saying that “as we begin our third week of 2021-22, we are pleased to report the incidence of Covid-19 in our schools has been very low as we build upon the lessons and successes of last year.”

Monroe also implored parents to come together and “treat one another with compassion and respect.”

“Parents know their children and their needs best, and we respect the decisions these parents have made to have children wear masks or claim an exemption in-line with the (county’s) proclamation,” he said. “It is not appropriate for families to claim an exemption for an extraneous reason, nor is it appropriate to challenge or confront parents on why they claimed an exemption for their child(ren).”

Monroe said school leaders continue to use multi-layered protective measures in school buildings, including enhanced cleaning, frequent hand-washing and contact tracing – “which last year proved so successful that shifts to virtual learning were rare.”

“The Diocese of Charlotte’s Catholic school system was among the state’s largest to deliver in-person instruction five days a week last year, and we did so with little to no virus spread,” Monroe said in the letter.

MACS held in-person instruction through the 2020-2021 school year, and masks were required in the school for staff and students. But even with masks required last year, at least one local MACS school, Charlotte Catholic High, had to abruptly switch in early 2021 to remote-only learning after one-third of the student body was in COVID quarantine amid positive cases.

“The past two weeks have shown that our current school environments are places of low risk from COVID, so no change is warranted at this time,” Monroe said in his letter Wednesday.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 1:10 PM.