Middle- and high-schoolers in the Anoka-Hennepin school district will move to distance learning Nov. 4 due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, according to an update Friday.
Elementary schools in the district, the second largest in Minnesota, will remain in hybrid learning mode.
The district’s cases have been slowly climbing since mid-September. Anoka County’s numbers passed the state health department’s threshold for the hybrid learning format with 33 cases per 10,000 people. Hennepin County is following behind with 25 cases per 10,000 over a two-week period.
Once the counties pass 30 cases, the school district must switch to only distance learning for middle- and high-schoolers.
Most of the cases are in the county’s population, not in the district. On Oct. 17 only two students out of 10,000 had tested positive that week along with 11 employees.
According to the district’s announcement, schools will transition middle and high school students in the hybrid learning format to distance learning starting Nov. 4 through the end of the first trimester on Dec. 4. There will be no school for preK-12 students from Nov. 2-3 to give staff time to prepare.
High school co-curricular athletics and activities will cease Nov. 2 following Minnesota State High School League guidance. Current after-school programs coordinated by Anoka-Hennepin Community Education in middle schools will wrap up this week. Community Education coordinators are working to provide modified recreational and enrichment opportunities for middle school students.
As the school year continues, the possibility for shifting the learning model remains. The district will announce its plans for the second trimester no later than Nov. 24.