With the recent spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Washington County, Stillwater school officials are considering a return to distance learning for middle and high school students.
The Stillwater Area School Board will hold a special meeting Thursday night to vote on the proposed change.
If approved, distance learning could start as early as next week, Interim Superintendent Malinda Lansfeldt said in a letter to parents Monday night. The board may also discuss the future of elementary schools in light of the most recent trend data, she said.
The latest 14-day case report from the Minnesota Department of Health, as well as daily numbers for Washington County, show coronavirus cases rising rapidly in the community.
According to state health and education guidelines, middle and high schools should consider closing once a county’s 14-day case rate exceeds 30 per 10,000 residents and elementary schools when case rates exceed 50 per 10,000 residents.
Washington County had 33 positive tests per 10,000 residents from samples collected Sept. 27 – Oct. 10. Lansfeldt also shared a report based on more recent data that showed that Washington County’s numbers had reached 51 per 10,000 residents as of Monday and that the school district’s case rate had reached 37.
“Based on these growing numbers, our regional team of health experts, assigned to us by the Minnesota Department of Education, is strongly recommending we make a change in our learning model,” Lansfeldt wrote.
It was not immediately clear whether Washington County’s numbers include 90 inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility — Stillwater in Bayport who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month.
Stillwater schools have been on a hybrid model since school started; students are in school two days a week and doing online learning the other three days.
KEEP SPORTS GOING?
Board chairwoman Sarah Stivland said Tuesday afternoon that she had received dozens of emails from parents asking that the board consider keeping sports if the schools move to distance learning. On Monday, the Anoka-Hennepin school board voted 5-1 to continue participating in sports and other activities even as they close their middle and high schools.
The Anoka-Hennepin decision is “obviously on everybody’s minds,” Stivland said. “We are still looking into what the numbers are in our community and what we really need to do to decrease the spread for right now. We want to keep people safe and healthy as much as possible. We all agree that what is best for kids is for them to be in school and to be participating fully in their activities, but we’re working very closely with the health care advisors, the education advisors, our local and county officials, our local hospital system, and we’re taking this very seriously.”
Board Member Bill Gilles said he would push to keep the schools and sports activities open to students. He said he received close to 100 emails Tuesday from concerned parents.
“Our mission as a school district is to provide a quality education to every student in the district, and we can’t do that if the buildings are shut down,” he said. “As long as the schools are not a source of infection, we need to keep the schools open.”
Parent Tom McCormick said he hopes the board will vote to continue school sports.
“We understand the growing risks around the rise in COVID numbers, but at the same time, there is a mental-health issue and just having some normalcy in the kids’ lives,” said McCormick the father of Stillwater Area High School varsity football player Connor McCormick. “When kids don’t have positive reinforcements and activities like this to be involved in, it can be a bad time for them, and they can make bad choices.”
The Ponies have three more games this season. If the board votes on Thursday night to end sports, Connor, a junior, and his teammates would play their last game Friday night, Tom McCormick said.
“I feel bad for the seniors on the team this year … to have this taken away,” he said.
McCormick said the team has been taking numerous precautions to stay safe during the pandemic, including abiding by the limit of 250 spectators at football games and wearing masks when they have meetings and watch film inside.
“We would love to have the opportunity to let these kids continue to play and finish out the season,” he said.
Lansfeldt stressed that parents should keep their children home from school if they are feeling sick and contact the school health office “if anyone in your household is sick with COVID-19 or has possibly been exposed to COVID-19, or if your child has COVID-like symptoms.”