District One to transition to remote learning Nov. 30

amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, superintendent says a ‘community commitment’ is needed to help schools operate safely

In a special meeting Thursday afternoon prompted by the increasing spread of COVID-19 within Yuma County, the district governing board elected to transition the district to remote/virtual instruction with on-site support services beginning Nov. 30 through the end of the semester on Dec. 11.

The district will observe Thanksgiving break Nov. 23-27.

According to Superintendent James Sheldahl, if keeping schools open for onsite instruction were the community’s “top priority,” schools would remain open.

“A community commitment creating conditions for schools to operate safely would pave the way for the safe operations of businesses and services throughout the community,” he said. “We need, and will continue to need, the help of our community. Whether you have children in one of our schools or not, our community is stronger, healthier and more viable when children are learning safely at school.”

According to the most recent Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) school dashboard data set released Thursday at 9 a.m., Yuma County’s rate of positive cases skyrocketed from nearly 200 positive cases per 100,000 individuals the week of Oct. 25 to 304 positive cases per 100,000 individuals the week of Nov. 1.

The percentage of positive tests also rose from 14.3% the week of Oct. 25 to 17.6% the week of Nov. 1. In those respective weeks, regional hospital visits for COVID-like illness – which includes data from Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties – rose from 3% to nearly 5%, according to ADHS.

To continue offering a hybrid learning model, ADHS recommends a county’s positive cases per 100,000 individuals fall between 10 and 100, with the percentage of positive tests and hospital visits falling below 10%.

Currently, two of those three benchmarks are “in the red,” indicating substantial transmission of COVID-19 in Yuma County. As the holidays approach and District One, like many other districts around the county, takes a one-week break for Thanksgiving and a three-week break for Christmas, board members anticipate to see a continuum of these trends.

“Families will be together, people will be traveling, people will be coming in (to town) and all these factors that we can’t control are going to affect what the students and the staff bring back to the campus,” said board member Irene Montoya.

According to Sheldahl, evidence shows the design of the district’s hybrid learning model and its mitigation plan are working as planned to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the areas the district has control of. Additionally, contact tracing indicates that students who have tested positive for COVID-19 while participating in the district’s hybrid learning model were exposed somewhere offsite, not on a District One campus.

“Our school personnel have been doing an amazing job of implementing our plan on campus, but the impact of the COVID spread in the community is creeping in, leading to an increase in employees who are forced to quarantine because a family member tested positive or the employee has developed symptoms themselves or been otherwise exposed,” Sheldahl said. “This trend is starting to expose staffing shortages, especially in our substitute pool.”

Board member Karen Griffith expressed her concern that community members aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously and are neglecting their responsibility to help mitigate the spread.

“We do have control over what goes on in our schools; we have absolutely no control over what’s happening once our students and our staff leave campus,” she said. “We have done everything that we’ve been asked to do (as a district) to keep everybody safe, and I think while we are in school everybody is safe. But...our kids are going home and the masks aren’t being worn, the handwashing’s not being done, they’re out in public in large groups – we have no control over that. I’m very fearful of what will happen once they’ve been home for a week, once they’ve been home for three weeks.”

Board president Barbara Foote added: “It’s just very concerning and sad that the public is not taking this issue of the pandemic seriously. Wash your hands, wear the mask, use hand sanitizer – those three things are so simple to do and reduce the risk enormously.”

During remote learning, grab-and-go meals will continue to be provided to children age 18 and younger, Sheldahl said. Accommodations will also be made for students in need of transportation to the on-site support services each day.

The district will continue to assess data as it becomes available to determine how and when to resume in-person learning, according to Sheldahl.