Penn Christian Academy has announced to parents and staff that an asymptomatic school employee has contracted COVID-19.

According to administrator Craig Carnahan, this is the second case the school has seen so far this school year, with the first case being a student three weeks ago.

Carnahan, who's been the Penn Christian administrator for six years, said the two cases were diagnosed far enough apart that the state Department of Health has deemed them unrelated.

Carnahan said the school in Penn Township is still making sure to follow through with health department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol.

“We'll email the whole school community,” Carnahan said. “Then we will directly contact anyone who was in close contact.”

Penn Christian Academy draws from seven school districts in Butler and Allegheny counties: Butler Area, South Butler County, Slippery Rock, Seneca Valley, Mars Area, Pine- Richland and Deer Lakes.

Carnahan said this year, the school has 140 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade and 30 preschoolers.

Offering students the option of attending class in person or online allows the school to remain active during the pandemic, according to Carnahan.

“We're utilizing almost every class,” Carnahan said. “Especially with the spacing (needed) this year.”

As a private school, Carnahan said it's sometimes difficult for Penn Christian to access personal protective equipment.While masks have been easy to come by, buying things such as antibacterial soap and disinfectant in bulk are harder to get.“Because we're smaller, it has been a little more difficult,” Carnahan said. “We've been on back order for some things.”Public school districts received CARES Act money directly through Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds this spring, according to the Department of Education.Nonpublic schools with low-income students in their jurisdiction received a smaller portion of ESSER money through their public school districts. The ESSER distribution was based on 2019 Title I-A disbursements.Carnahan said some parents and donors are helping to fill the school's PPE needs by offering to donate items or money.“We have had a lot of parents step up,” Carnahan said. “We've really been blessed.”

Carnahan said he's been pleased to see how the pandemic is pulling communities together.As the administrator of a school that draws students from seven districts, he said communicating with families has been surprisingly easy amid the challenges a pandemic presents.Carnahan said the school has taken to sending regular emails and texts to parents to keep them informed.School staff has also started posting things online, instead of providing hard copies of news, to cut down on the transmission of germs.Carnahan said this year in general — and particularly election week — has shown him how important it is to see other people's perspectives.“The more grace that you can offer openly ... the more smoothly this year will go,” Carnahan said.