WOOSTER, Ohio — Wooster Christian School is unusually quiet for a Wednesday.
No winter coats. No school supplies on the tables. No students. Only a sign posted outside: "Wooster Christian School is closed until Tuesday, Feb. 18, due to illness and previously scheduled days off."
Instead of students, custodial staff members spent the day deep cleaning the building after a spike in illnesses.
The announcement was sent to parents around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and shared with students over the intercom before their last period.
Abby Rutt, a parent, also welcomed the decision. One of her three children had already been home sick earlier in the week.
“We were home. We got the message right at the end of the day, and we were just really excited to have the rest of the time off for the week,” Rutt said.
This is the first time Wooster Christian has shut down due to widespread illness.
“I can’t remember any other time where we’ve had like 20% of our student body out at one time,” said Randy Claes, the school’s administrator for the past decade.
The Wayne County Health Department said Wednesday that it has not identified an official outbreak of any particular illness. However, Claes hopes the closure will slow the spread at his school.
“So hopefully when people return, the coupled effect of the students being away from each other with the building being cleaned and having a chance to sort of reset itself… we’ll be in a better position,” he said.
Gabe Tudor, Superintendent of the Wooster School District says they are not calling off school at this time.
"We do have more absences than other times of the year but at this point, are able to manage it from a staff perspective, Tudor explained in a text.
