Many McLean County students were back in remote learning after a rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19. | Adobe Stock
Many McLean County students were back in remote learning after a rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19. | Adobe Stock
Surges in COVID-19 cases accompanied by quarantines prompted some McLean County school districts to switch to remote learning.
Heyworth plans to stick with remote learning through the end of the fall semester on Friday, Dec. 18.
The school district made the decision as more staff members entered quarantine and few substitute teachers were available, Superintendent Lisa Taylor said in the district’s November Facebook post.
“Our most significant increase in cases has been within the past week, and our student positive cases have nearly tripled in count,” Taylor said in the post. “This was not an easy decision to make, and I am pleased that we were able to remain in person as long as we did.”
The district reached a point where they anticipated having more students at home than attending classes in person without enough staff members and substitutes to cover all positions, Taylor said, The Pantagraph reported in November.
Olympia will move its students to remote learning starting on Nov. 23, the district said announced on its website.
Olympia High School students already were in remote learning, Superintendent Laura O’Donnell said, The Pantagraph reported. Another positive case at the high school put the district over the 15% absence rate benchmark for remote learning.
As of Nov. 9, 160 Olympia students were in quarantine because of symptoms of close contact with someone who reported a positive COVID-19 test. Half of the cases were among the 525 high school students.
The district continues to deep clean wherever students who tested positive have been, O’Donnell said, The Pantagraph reported.
El Paso Gridley High remains in remote learning until after Nov. 24, Superintendent Brian Kurz told The Pantagraph. The district scheduled two weeks of remote learning when the number of students in quarantine exceeded 20%.
He said the two-week remote stints, used since the start of the school year for some elementary school classrooms and complete grade levels at El Paso Gridley Junior High have successfully brought them back to in-person learning.
With half of the high school’s students in isolation or quarantine, Lexington High spent four days in remote learning before returning to in-person classes on Nov. 10.
The 79 students who were in contact with two persons who tested positive have since been cleared to return to classrooms, Superintendent Paul Deters told The Pantagraph.
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