A local teacher died Saturday, Dec. 5, of covid-19 complications.

Staci A. Blakely taught 3rd grade at Carolina Springs Elementary School.

Mrs. Blakely’s family allowed us to share this with you because they think it is important to remind you how serious this disease can be.

They have asked for privacy at this time.

Mrs. Blakely was a veteran teacher with 28 years experience.

She began her education career at Virginia Park Elementary in Richland County District 1 in 1992 before joining Lexington District 1 in 1999.

Supt. Greg Little reflected, “Mrs. Blakely’s death is a tragedy. She was a wonderful, warm teacher who will be missed.

"One of the ways we can celebrate her life is being sure that we continue to take care of each other.”

Principal Todd Brown informed the staff of Mrs. Blakely’s death Sunday.

That same day, the school informed the parents of her students to let them know that counselors and psychologists would be at the school on Monday.

The district followed procedures for contact tracing and notification of close contacts after being notified that Mrs. Blakely tested positive on Nov. 11.

Her last day of work was Thursday, Nov. 5.

There have been no other positive test results of the virus for individuals in her classroom either before or after she became ill.

The district always has a dashboard with current information available online on its Stronger Together webpage. You can find it here. Just click on the word dashboard.

https://www.lexdistrict1.com/stronger-together