SUAMICO, Wis. (AP) — A high school teacher in northeastern Wisconsin has died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.

Officials with the Howard-Suamico School District sent a letter to its students’ families notifying them that Heidi Hussli had died on Thursday. The letter said the Bay Port High School German teacher was hospitalized briefly before her death.

The letter also included a note from Hussli’s family members, who said they are devastated by her loss and asked for privacy to grieve and reflect.

The 47-year-old Hussli was a native of Beaver Dam and taught German at Bay Port for 16 years.

Superintendent Damian LaCroix said news of her death was heart-wrenching to all who knew her. LaCroix said, in the letter, that Hussli’s “positivity and passion for her students and her craft left a lasting mark on our school community.”

Hussli is survived by her husband and son.

As of Thursday, Bay Port was reporting nine positive cases of COVID-19, eight involving students.

Under the school district’s reopening plan, Bay Port students attend in-person classes two days a week with an option for a third day.