Dear Bloom-Carroll Community,
Earlier this week I communicated important data the district reviews daily to inform our decisions about the operating status of our schools. In that message, I shared with you that data can change very quickly. We look at district case data, staffing levels, and the total number of students and/or staff in quarantine.
As of Monday, the district had sixty (60) students quarantined due to school cases. Fifty-one (51) of the quarantined students attend the high school.
Late this afternoon, the data changed very quickly. The number of students at the high school being quarantined has increased to about one-hundred and twenty (120) students. This represents about 20% of the high school students in quarantine. Students in quarantine do not represent an active case, it means they have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual during the infectious period; however, the excessive number of quarantined students impacts the continuity of teaching and learning.
The district continues to make every effort for children to remain in school. Unfortunately, the number of high school students in quarantine, at this moment, calls for a change in our instructional status at the high school.
Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, December 10th, the high school (grades 9-12)will transition to remote/virtual learning – Orange Status Level. Tomorrow, high school students should check their school email from home as they will receive instructions from their teachers and administrators in preparation for remote/virtual instruction. The information will include the daily online class schedule, attendance expectations, and how to access virtual learning platforms.
Remote/virtual instruction will begin for high school students on Friday, December 11th and will continue the week of December 14th.
At this time, all other school buildings (K-8) in the BCLSD will remain open for in-person instruction on our current Modified Green Schedule.
Winter break is scheduled for December 19th – January 3rd. During this time, we will continue to monitor the impact of community cases and school cases on our students. We will make a decision about the future status of the high school on or by December 30th.
High students or parents may pick up lunches at the high school cafeteria on Thursday, December 10th, and Monday, December 14th between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Please complete the form below if you would like to receive a school lunch.
High school extra-curricular activities will continue for those individuals or teams not impacted by quarantines during this time period. We will continue to evaluate this on a daily basis.
I am as frustrated as anyone with the painfully difficult decisions this pandemic has presented. These are tough decisions and they do not rest easily with me. As a parent, I understand what you are going through. My children are impacted as well. We will do all we can to return our high school students to in-person instruction as soon as possible as long as we are able to establish and maintain continuity of instruction for our students.
Thank you,
Shawn Haughn
Superintendent