East Lyme — School officials reported Tuesday that three members of the school district community — who were from East Lyme High School, East Lyme Middle School and Lillie B. Haynes School — tested positive for COVID-19.

The three individuals were told to isolate at home, and the district is collaborating with Ledge Light Health District to notify close contacts, Superintendent Jeffrey R. Newton said in a notification to staff and families.

He said the individuals from the high school and middle school were last at school on Nov. 6, and the individual from Lillie B. Haynes was last at school on Oct. 29. He added that if there is a need to temporarily close any of those schools, he will reach out to families on Wednesday, which is a remote learning day.

He urged staff, parents and guardians to talk to their children and family members about preventive measures, such as frequent hand washing, wearing a mask, social distancing and avoiding touching their eyes, mouth and nose.

In a separate notification earlier in the day, he also announced that the school district will continue its hybrid learning model through the end of December as COVID-19 cases rise in the region and state.

“We were hoping to begin a phase-in of students by first transitioning our K-6 children to in-person instruction prior to Thanksgiving,” Newton wrote Tuesday in a letter to parents and guardians. “However, due to the increased COVID numbers across the region (and the state), it has been recommended we remain in the hybrid model.”

He said school officials will reassess at the end of December. While he said school officials remain focused on the goal of full in-person learning, they “will not make the transition to full in-person instruction unless the medical professionals we work and correspond with agree it is safe to do so.”

He also reminded families that it is important for students to follow their school’s schedule during the day, given the district’s “ongoing goal to eventually return all students to full in-person learning.” He added that “there is always the possibility of a need to transition to full remote instruction at any point, and students should be prepared for that transition if it were to happen.”

Newton referred families planning to travel over the next two months to follow the state’s guidance on out-of-state travel. He added that students who do travel out of state should isolate for 14 days.

He also pointed out that while the state is allowing school districts to shift to remote learning on snow days, East Lyme currently plans to continue to have snow days to keep a sense of normalcy. The district has three snow days built into the calendar and will reassess if it uses all of them.