JENNINGS COUNTY — Just two weeks into the school year, Jennings County Middle School has suspended in-person classes and switched to remote learning through Labor Day after one-third of the student body tested positive for COVID-19, was absent while awaiting test results or was deemed a close contact.
The school, located at 820 W. Walnut St. in North Vernon, shifted to remote learning this past Monday, but plans to return to in-person instruction on Sept. 7, according to a letter sent to parents from Jennings County School Corp. Superintendent Teresa Brown and school principal Jeanie Koelmel.
Nine students at the middle had tested positive for COVID-19 as of this past Friday, with another 30 were out with pending test results, according to the letter.
“With the number of close contacts identified, we have nearly 34% of our student population absent or working at home virtually,” the letter states. “…(Jennings County Middle School) is the only school being closed at this time based on our school data.”
The temporary closure came as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge statewide and nearly two weeks after Helmsburg Elementary in Brown County temporarily suspended in-person classes due to COVID-19.
Currently, it is unclear whether other schools in Jennings County will suspend in-person instruction.
Jennings County High School reported at least 11 cases of COVID-19 among students last week, according to the data from the Indiana State Department of Health that was current as of Monday.
Neither Brown nor Jennings County School Board President Pat Sullivan responded to requests for comment.
At least 106 children in Jennings County have tested positive for COVID-19 since Aug. 1, according to public records.
On Tuesday, 42 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Jennings County — the third highest single-day tally in the county during the entire pandemic.
Just 180 children ages 12 to 15 in Jennings County were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday morning, as were 326 residents ages 16 to 19, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
However, it is not known how many of those individuals attend school in the Jennings County School Corp., which serves over 4,300 students, according to its website.
Overall, 35% of Jennings County’s total population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, according to state records and the U.S. Census Bureau.
