Dear Worcester Preparatory School Community,

Thank you for your patience and support as we navigated our first COVID positive case. Our administration has worked extremely closely with the Worcester County Health Department over the past 24 hours in order to make decisions that are in the best interest of our school community and we will continue to base our next steps on their recommendations. Please see below for a comprehensive update:

  • The Worcester County Health Department has concluded its investigation related to close contract tracing of a test-positive employee at WPS. At this time, the agency has contacted all individuals identified as close contact exposures to the infected person. If you have not been contacted, you are not considered a close contact exposure and do not need to quarantine at this time. The employee who tested positive is recovering well and in good spirits. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to the school with expressions of support and care for our entire staff. 

  • During our Lower School one-day closure, additional cleaning staff have been utilized to thoroughly clean the all Lower School classrooms, commons areas and restrooms. This includes all hard surfaces, door handles and desks. Additionally, these spaces have been completely sanitized through the use of our 4 Electrostatic Disinfectant Sprayers. All of the Medical-Grade, HEPA Air Filtration Units have also received new filters.

  • Today, Worcester Prep received information that another individual in the Lower School has tested positive. Our school will once again be in constant contact with the Worcester County Health Department in order to determine protocol for moving forward. Due to the timing of the delivery of this information, the Health Department has begun their investigation today but it will not conclude until tomorrow.
 
  • In light of this development, the Lower School will transition to Continuous Learning beginning tomorrow, 10.21, through Friday, 10.23. Lower School families will be contacted by faculty members this evening with details regarding Continuous Learning and login information.

Thank you, again, for your support of our school and faculty. We truly appreciate our school community and look forward to welcoming all Mallards back to campus as soon as safely possible. Please look for another communication tomorrow, as we continue to coordinate with the Health Department. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this causes and appreciate your understanding.

As always, stay informed, stay safe and stay Mallard Strong.
Dr. John C. McDonald, Jr.
Head of School
Mallard Strong Task Force
Please visit our Task Force webpage through this link to view our comprehensive health plan and our frequently asked questions.

Potential Exposure 
The CDC defines close contact as being within six feet of a person who has tested positive for a period of more than 15 minutes. The Health Department will work to identify possible exposures through contact tracing and directly notify those individuals who need to quarantine. Only an individual (employee or student) identified as a close contact exposure will be contacted by the Worcester County Health Department and asked to quarantine. 
  
Facility Cleaning and Disinfection 
We continue to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection of the school campus on a daily basis. These protocols are completed in accordance with the CDC’s Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations. 
   
Continued Attention to Heightened Hygiene 
We will continue our heightened environmental cleaning regimen in accordance with CDC recommendations, including routine cleaning of all frequently touched surfaces in the school, such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, and doorknobs. We advise all WPS community members to continue their personal regimens related to reducing transmission of the COVID-19 virus.