City schools remain open after Whitmer’s call for twoweek pause
Majority of districts following suit after governor’s request
Royal Oak Schools are opting out of voluntarily ending in-person high school classes and youth sports as recommended by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A majority of school districts are reportedly remaining open following Whitmer’s request Friday to voluntarily stop in-door restaurant dining, teen sports and in-person high school classes.
Michigan now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and infection rates of any state nationwide.
In a letter to parents, Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick noted the governor called on school districts to voluntarily move high school students to completely remote learning following spring break.
Royal Oak’s school district, like others, was surprised to hear Whitmer’s request for the voluntary closures during a news conference Friday “without any direct prior notice to school leaders,” Fitpatrick said in her letter.
The superintendent further stated the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
and county health departments have the authority to order schools closed, rather than leave the decision up to school districts.
Royal Oak schools this week are following a modified in-person schedule as planned for scheduled standardized testing for SAT and other tests.
“Royal Oak Schools intends to remain open of in-person learning for all our students,” Fitzpatrick said, adding the district will follow required cleaning and social distancing measures to limit exposure to COVID-19 that are already in place.
Those measures are working, Fitzpatrick said, and the school district has not seen infection outbreaks resulting from being in school buildings. Spring sports will continue with all athletes being tested for COVID-19 once a week.
“We will continue to monitor the number of positive cases and number of quarantined students across our district to determine if there is a need to shift programming to remote /virtual learning at any of our buildings,” said Fitzpatrick.
Parents are urged to carry on with notifying the district if a student tests positive for the coronavirus or have been in close contact with anyone who has the virus.
Some other school districts, like nearby Ferndale Schools, are following Whitmer’s call for a two-week break aimed at slowing the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Ferndale Schools officials in a statement to parents Friday cited information from Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive. She said the state’s COVID-19 cases, now 515 per million, are four times higher than they were in mid-February.
State assessment tests set for this week and next are postponed until a later date to be determined.
Ferndale Schools Superintendent Dania Bazzi said her district is pausing inperson learning and indoor sports for all students in grades 6-12. Outdoor sports will continue.