Statement from Gaylesville High School Principal Terry Gilbreath: 

On Thursday, August 28, Gaylesville School had students from the same household test positive for COVID. One of the students woke up that morning with COVID symptoms. Following school guidelines, the parents made the responsible decision to have them tested. The students did not come to school the day of August 28. The school began following the ADPH guidelines to determine close contacts according to the six-feet,15 minute guideline from two days prior to the positive test.

Two of the students were athletes on the football team. Following the guidance of the ADPH, members of the football team were sent home to be quarantined until appropriate contact tracing could be conducted. After further contact tracing, it was determined that only one of the football players would need to be quarantined due to his being unable to maintain six feet for less than fifteen minutes. 

During the summer, athletes were able to begin participating together on June 1. It is a testament to the coaches for implementing guidelines such as purchasing cases of water for student-athletes, minimizing numbers in locker rooms, organizing practices in groups, disinfecting the field house before and after workouts/practices, and doing everything possible to keep the student-athletes on the field, and more importantly, in school. 

Non-athletes that were determined as possible close contacts were contacted by the school nurse and notified of the ADPH guidelines. Reports were also given to the ADPH according to the Alabama reopening school kit for further contact tracing. Once again, it is a testament to the hard work our administration and staff have been doing that the non-athletes identified as possible close contacts were few in number. Several procedures were put into place prior to school re-opening including the school being able to minimize numbers in the classroom as much as possible, staggering hall transitions, keeping groups static as much as possible, classroom seating charts, the hiring of extra custodians hired for cleaning, teachers disinfecting rooms before new students arrive, students wearing masks, and other additional measures. These procedures allowed for the possible close contact of non-athletes during the school day to be few in number. 

If your child was not contacted by the school or the ADPH, they should resume classes as normal. We continue to ask parents to check temperatures and check for signs of COVID.  If sick, students should not come to school. Parents can notify the school for further guidance if their child did not come to school due to being sick.

The football team, other than the one player that was not able to maintain the six feet guideline, will be back on campus Monday, August 31, for classes and to resume football practice. The football team will resume JV/V schedules starting Monday, August 31, versus Cedar Bluff in a JV game and will travel to  Appalachian Friday night, September 4. 

First and foremost, we as a system have the safety of our students and community as a top priority and understand the importance of students being in classrooms and being involved in other activities when possible.