Wow! Traditional, in-person learning didn't last long.
https://www.stwnewspress.com/covid-...cle_11e40e0e-e58f-11ea-8b01-63920aaed9e0.html
Stillwater schools shift to virtual learning
After announcing Friday that Stillwater Public Schools would continue in-person instruction for the second week of classes, Superintendent Marc Moore announced Sunday that he had revised his decision based on the number of new COVID-19 infections.
SPS school sites will be closed Monday so the district can distribute laptops and Wifi hotspots to students who need them and virtual instruction will commence on Tuesday.
The district is using a COVID-19 threat assessment map provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health every Friday to determine whether students go to school in-person or online. Moore said he also consults with local health authorities and other institutions to make the determination.
As of Friday, the district was still barely in code yellow, but new cases reported over the weekend pushed it into the first level of code orange, which entails a shift to on-line classes until numbers drop. Stillwater alone had 21 new cases on Sunday.
It has become clear in recent days that the numbers reported by the Health Department do not include all positive test results.
"The Oklahoma COVID-19 Alert System report on August 21 designated Payne County in the YELLOW category based on new coronavirus cases from Friday, August 14, through Thursday, August 20. Since last Thursday’s reporting, the Oklahoma Health Department has reported a significant number of new coronavirus cases, resulting in Payne County reaching an ORANGE 1 designation for three consecutive days with today’s population adjusted number exceeding 20 new cases per day on average for the past week. The threshold for Orange 1 is 14.39," Moore wrote in a social media post. "Due to this new information and district safety protocols calling for additional measures when community-wide spread of coronavirus increases, all SPS schools will observe ORANGE 1 from August 24 - 28."
Moore told the News Press on Friday that he would continue to monitor the situation and it could change over the weekend.
The decision to go virtual for at least the next week was made when new numbers were released on Sunday, Communications Coordinator Barry Fuxa said. He said the district is working out arrangements with the Child Nutrition Program to ensure students get fed. It will be communicating the specifics as the details are worked out.
"SPS values traditional, in-person learning and does not take this decision lightly, but keeping student and staff health and safety at the forefront of our decisions, we believe COVID-19 conditions necessitate a change to Distance Learning at this time," Moore wrote. "If you have specific questions, please contact your school."
https://www.stwnewspress.com/covid-...cle_11e40e0e-e58f-11ea-8b01-63920aaed9e0.html
Stillwater schools shift to virtual learning
After announcing Friday that Stillwater Public Schools would continue in-person instruction for the second week of classes, Superintendent Marc Moore announced Sunday that he had revised his decision based on the number of new COVID-19 infections.
SPS school sites will be closed Monday so the district can distribute laptops and Wifi hotspots to students who need them and virtual instruction will commence on Tuesday.
The district is using a COVID-19 threat assessment map provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health every Friday to determine whether students go to school in-person or online. Moore said he also consults with local health authorities and other institutions to make the determination.
As of Friday, the district was still barely in code yellow, but new cases reported over the weekend pushed it into the first level of code orange, which entails a shift to on-line classes until numbers drop. Stillwater alone had 21 new cases on Sunday.
It has become clear in recent days that the numbers reported by the Health Department do not include all positive test results.
"The Oklahoma COVID-19 Alert System report on August 21 designated Payne County in the YELLOW category based on new coronavirus cases from Friday, August 14, through Thursday, August 20. Since last Thursday’s reporting, the Oklahoma Health Department has reported a significant number of new coronavirus cases, resulting in Payne County reaching an ORANGE 1 designation for three consecutive days with today’s population adjusted number exceeding 20 new cases per day on average for the past week. The threshold for Orange 1 is 14.39," Moore wrote in a social media post. "Due to this new information and district safety protocols calling for additional measures when community-wide spread of coronavirus increases, all SPS schools will observe ORANGE 1 from August 24 - 28."
Moore told the News Press on Friday that he would continue to monitor the situation and it could change over the weekend.
The decision to go virtual for at least the next week was made when new numbers were released on Sunday, Communications Coordinator Barry Fuxa said. He said the district is working out arrangements with the Child Nutrition Program to ensure students get fed. It will be communicating the specifics as the details are worked out.
"SPS values traditional, in-person learning and does not take this decision lightly, but keeping student and staff health and safety at the forefront of our decisions, we believe COVID-19 conditions necessitate a change to Distance Learning at this time," Moore wrote. "If you have specific questions, please contact your school."
