Mineral County schools deal with COVID-19 issues

Due to rising COVID-19 cases throughout Mineral County some area school districts have had to contend with closures and a return to remote learning as the pandemic toils on.

As of Dec. 7, Mineral County was standing at 27 active cases, including two new, of COVID-19, with 65 recovered. There haven't been any hospitalizations and more than 1,700 tests results were received.

Superior School District is continuing with in person instruction, while Alberton School District has gone fully remote for the remaining weeks of 2020, and St. Regis recently dealt with a two-week closure.

Just before Thanksgiving one staff member and two students tested positive at St. Regis School District. This resulted in a large number of student and staff close contacts and ultimately the school decided to close on Nov. 20, and remain closed through Dec. 1.

The St. Regis School Board met Nov. 30 to consider their options. St. Regis School Superintendent Joe Steele explained, “The decision was based on the fact that both administrators are quarantined, as well as three teachers and several staff. The kitchen is also closed, which was another consideration. By the 7th, when we go back to in-person learning, we should be close to full strength again.”

“We had about 11 students test positive, mostly JH and HS students. We also had four staff test positive since school started,” said Steele.

Winter Break for St. Regis School begins on Dec. 19. Until then Steele remarked, “We hope to be in-person, but the other option is an A/B schedule to limit the number of people in the building at a time to better social distance. We will be splitting 8th grade (25 kids) into two groups with one group alternating between live and virtual connection with the classroom.”

If positive cases persist the staff and administration does have a remote learning plan in place. Steele stated, “Elementary will be hardest hit with full remote learning. We hope to have small group instruction similar to what we did in the spring to help keep them on pace.”

Aside from closures and distance learning procedures Steele added that the school would remain vigilant with health and safety measures. “We will clamp down on mask wearing, ensuring everyone is wearing them correctly and at all times while in the building. Sanitizing and ventilating will remain the same. If a case develops, we will close down that room for 24 hours, then clean and ventilate before allowing folks back in,” said Steele.

Lastly, he shared, “We will be pleading with parents to keep kids’ home if sick, stick to immediate family gatherings, not allow kids to have sleepovers, etc., wear masks and take precautions. We believe most of our positive cases are from asymptomatic kids. This means parents must do their part to limit exposure if they want school to remain open.”

Down the road in Superior, the school district remains open with students and teachers in the classrooms for now. Concerning any possible future school closures Superintendent Scott Kinney provided, “Not at this time. Our administrative team meets often and loop the Mineral County Health Department into our decision-making.

At this time, we have NO active cases among staff or students, though we have had them identified as close contacts and are on quarantine, working and learning from home.” Since the beginning of the school year Superior School District has had staff members test positive for COVID-19, but not any students.

Usually a school district is required to shut down and switch to remote learning when risk of infection and spread is extremely high, or if a school is unable to fully staff classrooms and programs. Kinney explained, “During our COVID-19 planning last summer, we budgeted two to five days off to clean our buildings and reset to remote learning. This gives teachers a chance to shift gears and the rest of the staff to ensure students have all the things needed to be successful at home. We also use the time to coordinate our food service program to prep for at-home meals and offer up our school pantry to support families during the long haul.”

In the event that Superior has active cases within the district they’ll revert back to online instruction similar to last school year. “Last spring, we went completely remote with all students and teaching staff. In our second iteration, we kept students’ home and brought staff back so teachers would have all the tools and resources necessary to support effective instructional delivery. We will fall back to that mode should we have to close our doors due to a massive spike in COVID-19 transmission in our community,” conveyed Kinney.

Another challenge facing county schools is the commencement of winter sports on Dec. 7. Kinney said “Extracurricular programs are going to be a day-by-day endeavor, as it will be exceptionally challenging to safely hold events indoors as well as the physical nature of basketball and wrestling. He also added that as Alberton has closed their school for remote learning until January, practices will be held in Superior for the co-op for basketball and wrestling.

For sports and school in general each of the counties school districts are also in desperate need of more substitute teachers and available bus drivers. Kinney stated, “As we do not have an overabundance of subs or drivers, those we do have are dear to us as they allow the show to go on. We are always looking for qualified folks to apply to sub and drive.”

Over the course of their summer planning Kinney maintained, “Our number one priority is to keep our doors open and continue to offer up the best learning opportunities for our students five days a week. Our staff is diligent in keeping our facilities and the folks in them as safe as possible by masking uniformly and maintaining social distancing.”

“I am also exceptionally proud of our staff. Our school does so much more than educate students. We ensure our kids have access to food, clothing, technology, and all the sundry items necessary for them to be successful both here and at home,” expressed Kinney. He also mentioned, “My staff and I have nothing but gratitude for the ladies that work at the Mineral County Health Department. Over the last nine months, they have worked tirelessly to keep Mineral County and its schools safe, open, and informed.”

On Nov. 19, Alberton School District announced that they would transition to remote learning following immediately after Thanksgiving Break and through the month of December. Superintendent Mica Clarkson explained in her letter home to families, “With the holidays quickly approaching, undoubtedly the travel families partake in could create a spike in the amount of positive COVID-19 cases our area may experience. Maintaining the safety and health of our students, staff, and the greater community must be our number one priority.”

Further she said, “Continued gathering at the school could contribute to devastating experience that could lead to loss of family of time over the holidays, potential hardships of minimal time to prepare for remote instruction, not having enough substitutes to cover staff, an outbreak of the deadly virus, and in the worst case scenario, potential loss of life.”

For the 15 days of offsite instruction, Junior High and High School students will continue to participate in online learning as they have previously experienced this year. For elementary students a two-day packet was provided before Thanksgiving Break, and during the weeks in December the school will be delivering project-based learning assignments. Elementary students will also partake in at least one weekly Google Meet, or virtual face to face to check on progress.

Clarkson explained, “Alberton School District is prepared to deliver breakfasts and lunches for the remote session on Mondays and Wednesdays.” Also, the school is providing access to their guest Wi-Fi allowing families to use the internet from the parking lot if needed. To encourage students to stay engaged during these remote learning weeks, the school is hosting a fun video series called Holiday Edition Stay at Home Survivor where students have a chance to win prizes.

For questions or concerns regarding school closures and remote learning be sure to check frequently with each district for any news or updates.