Siloam Springs Schools go to virtual learning through Friday

Siloam Springs Schools switched to remote learning this week after a number of transportation department employees were impacted by covid-19.

Virtual learning began on Monday and will continue through Friday, Jan. 29. Students who are better served at school and have their own transportation are welcome to attend school on site but bus routes will not run this week, according to Superintendent Jody Wiggins.

The decision was made because of the number of teachers and transportation department employees who are out with covid-19 related issues, he said.

“We are still not seeing much, if any, covid spread within the school system,” Wiggins said. “Most of the staff and students who end up testing positive can be traced to an event or person from outside of the school. For this reason, we wanted to give students who are better off learning at school the option of attending in person this week if they have transportation. If we go completely remote district wide, it puts many of our families in tough positions trying to arrange for childcare, and it potentially forces some of our students into less than desirable situations.”

The district had 16 active covid-19 cases among staff members and 24 staff members were in quarantine after being identified as probable close contacts of an active case as of the end of the day Monday, the district website stated. A total of 10 students had active positive cases and 168 were in quarantine, the site stated.

On Tuesday, Wiggins said the number of students attending classes on site was limited overall. More students were attending school in the lower grades at Northside Elementary School and Allen Elementary School,