Why increasing attendance is a priority for new Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington
LOCAL

Williamson County schools: Fairview Middle School will be closed Friday due to illness

Adam Friedman
Nashville Tennessean

Fairview Middle School will be closed Friday after nearly one-third of its staff and students missed class due to illness on Thursday. 

Williamson County Schools didn't specify the illness in a message sent to families Thursday evening, but said FMS will be closed "due to an inability to staff the building and classrooms."

WCS Board of Education member Rick Wimberly later said on Twitter that these students and staff were absent with COVID-19, but corrected his statement the next day stating he should have said "absences not COVID cases."

On Thursday, the district told families that 187 students and 23 teachers were out of school. Earlier in the week, WCS reported 11 staff and 29 students were in quarantine with confirmed COVID-19 cases over the week prior.

The district plans to release coronavirus numbers for the entire school system on Friday. Administrators initially planned to release COVID-19 numbers only on Tuesdays, but due to a growing number of cases, they will release data on Tuesday and Friday.

WCS told parents it plans to use one of its inclement weather days because remote learning is not an option due to state guidelines. 

Board member Eric Welch also confirmed the closure announcement and the school's usage of an inclement weather day in a Twitter thread, adding that remote learning for students not enrolled in WCS's online school is not an option this school year due to "new State guidelines forced on the district."

The WCS board of education mandated masks in elementary schools last week, but not in middle and high schools.

Williamson County Schools:Board votes to require masks in elementary schools during raucous meeting

Brinley Hineman and Anika Exum contributed to this story

Have a news tip? Reach reporter Adam Friedman by email at afriedman@tennessean.com.