DIXFIELD — Regional School Unit 56 directors extended remote learning for all students to Dec. 3, after two more case of COVID-19 were reported, Superintendent Pam Doyen said Tuesday.

Students from Dixfield, Canton, Carthage and Peru were due to return to in-person learning Monday.

Two students from the same family tested positive for the virus at Dirigo Elementary School in Peru on Nov. 18, prompting the initial closures.

On Sunday, officials were notified a staff member at T.W. Kelly Dirigo Middle School and a student at Dirigo High School, both in Dixfield, also tested positive for the virus.

“With those further positive cases, our back-to-school framework indicates 14 days of remote learning, so we now are out until Dec. 3,” Doyen said.

“During this time our teachers will continue to teach; they will provide remote lessons through Zoom and Google classroom,” Doyen told directors meeting Tuesday. Buildings will be disinfected and sanitized.

The district’s COVID-19 collaborative team led by Director Earl Couture plans to meet after Thanksgiving break to further discuss whether students will be engaged in hybrid learning if Oxford County receives a yellow designation for elevated risk of COVID-19 spread, Doyen said.

All students who want to receive full-time in-person learning may do so, while others can choose full-time remote learning. However, with some classes of 16 in-person students, the collaborative team will decide if hybrid learning should be enacted for students attending school certain days of the week while engaging in remote learning other days, Doyen said Wednesday.

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