St. Paul of the Cross School in Park Ridge moves to remote learning

St. Paul of the Cross School in Park Ridge has temporarily moved to remote learning due to the spread of COVID-19 among students in a number of grades.

Archdiocese of Chicago spokesman Manny Gonzalez said the source of the infection is believed to be children from a couple of families who took part in activities outside school.

St. Paul's return-to-school procedures places students in groupings called "cohorts," with which they stay for as much of the day as possible. Under the school's plan, if a student in one of those cohorts tested positive for COVID-19, the entire group would be quarantined.

In this case, more than three such groups were affected, Gonzalez said.

"From our standpoint, we want our families to know that we value their safety above everything," he added. "This is really an effort to try to stay ahead of it."

Students were last in school on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and the 14-day quarantine is expected to end Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The school is equipped for all students to move to remote learning when necessary, but this is the first time it's happened at St. Paul of the Cross since classes resumed after summer, Gonzalez said.