Erie News Now has learned that students at Blessed Sacrament School on West 26th Street in Erie and Saint Jude School in Millcreek will shift to remote instruction all this week based on the number of COVID-19 cases reported in each school.

Bridget Philips, President of the Erie Catholic School system confirmed the decision to switch to web based instruction for students in both schools.  Philips said the decision was made on Friday, based on consultation with officials at the Erie County Department of Health.  

Philips would not release any specific case numbers, but said that according to health department officials, the case levels for Blessed Sacrament and St. Jude schools exceed what they consider safe to prevent the spread of illness among other students.  The president indicated that the issue is cases among the student population, not the faculty.

Students and their families were made aware of the learning shift on Friday.  Monday through Friday of this week, November 15 - 19, students will log on to classroom instruction with their teachers for the full day of school.  This impacts students grades K through 8.

For pre-school students at St. Jude and Blessed Sacrament, activity packets have been sent home.

Parent teacher conferences are scheduled for the start of the following week, before the Thanksgiving break, so students will not have classes the week of November 21.  

The schools are scheduled to reopen for in-person instruction on Tuesday November 30, following the holiday.

The news comes after Erie's Public Schools announced plans to shift students at Grover Cleveland elementary school to remote learning until after Thanksgiving break for the same reason.