Bremen schools will remain open, for now

Bremen Public Schools administrators outlined plans to keep both the high school and elementary/middle school open at the Nov. 18 school board meeting.

“We’re all trying to keep the school open as best as we can,” said Superintendent Jim White.

To keep the school open as long as possible, BPS staff is reportedly doing everything they can to remind students to maintain healthy preventative habits.

They are also working to enable social distancing between students. However, that has proven difficult in the classroom.

“Many of the classrooms right now are full,” White said. “We try to spread them out as best as we can”

The board also discussed the possibility of switching the high school to a hybrid schedule that would comprise both virtual and in-person days every week.

Toward the beginning of the year, the elementary school had to work around many students staying home due to contact tracing.

However, the tables have turned and BHS currently is dealing with the same issue.

“It’s hard,” White said. “Not as many positives as one would think, but a lot of exposure. A lot of it comes from home life, et cetera, and follows its way around.”

White reported that a recent meeting with Marshall County Health Department Medical Officer Dr. Byron Holm revealed that the contact tracing methods used in Marshall County are not likely to change during the current surge of cases.

“We asked if there was a possibility of modifying the contact tracing in some form or fashion; other counties have gone a little different direction, but he wasn’t comfortable with that,” White said.

At present, Marshall County traces contact with anyone who has been within six feet of someone who has COVID, regardless of mask usage.

In some counties, like Elkhart, contact tracing does not occur unless a person is within three feet of a COVID patient.

However, Holm did express willingness to study local data regarding the effectiveness of Marshall County’s contract tracing standards.

“OK, so you’ve had exposure at six feet. How many of those students or people then contracted the virus? And what we’re seeing right now is that’s low,” White reported. “We’re really not seeing a spread. The masks are doing what they’re supposed to be doing in the building with us. And (Holm) readily admits that his main concern is with a community spread: when people are out and about elsewhere.”

He went on to explain that, reportedly, the county is likely to switch from orange to red this week.

“There’s about 280 tests that they conducted Monday that they’re still waiting on results for,” White explained. And so it fits the cycle. He’s thinking that we’ll probably be red, which will put more restrictions on crowd sizes, so we may be down to one or two parents depending on sports.”

Trying to keep up with the constant COVID19 changes has been an intense job for administrators, teachers, and staff.

“Our nurse, who has gone full-time now, has done an excellent job with that,” White said.

Although BPS staff is trying to keep the school open, they acknowledged there is a chance the school will eventually have to close for in-person learning sometime this year.

“We’re really trying to avoid that, especially at the elementary and middle (school), because I think that puts a big burden on parents,” White said. “And I think that all of the superintendents in the county have the same feeling about that. But it comes down to public health, and if we can’t go, we’ll acquiesce to the health department.”

Nonetheless, administrators seem delighted that the school has remained open so long.

“I didn’t think there was any way on earth that we’d be knocking on Thanksgiving break without being shut down; I didn’t really think we’d make fall break,” White said. “So I’m glad I’m wrong. We’re going to keep doing the best we can with what we have, moving forward, rolling with this thing.

“We’re trying to keep the kids in here and get them educated.”