RICHARDSON, Texas — Editor's note: The video above is from a report on Aug. 16 about the district requiring face masks.
A Richardson ISD elementary school will be closed for one week and will shift to virtual-only learning for all its students as COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
District officials said nearly a quarter of students at Brentfield Elementary were absent from in-person learning as of Sept. 1.
According to officials, students will take part in virtual-only learning from Friday, Sept. 3, through Friday, Sept. 10 "in order to prevent further transmission at school."
Richardson ISD already offered a virtual learning option for students in kindergarten through sixth grade for the first nine weeks of the school year.
According to the district's COVID-19 dashboard, Brentfield Elementary has seen 36 COVID-19 cases among students and employees since it began the school year on Aug. 17. There are currently 24 active cases.
It's unclear how many students at Brentfield Elementary are participating in in-person learning or chose the temporary virtual option.
"Brentfield has experienced a significant number of positive cases of COVID-19 to begin the school year, with accompanying quarantines of positive students and staff, symptomatic students and staff, and students and staff determined to be close contacts of positive cases. RISD has established that the virus has been transmitted between students during school activities in multiple grade levels, and positive cases and quarantines continue to increase," the district said in a message to parents.
The district as a whole has seen 595 COVID-19 cases among students and employees since Aug. 2.
Richardson ISD requires students and employees to wear face masks while indoors.