As COVID-19 cases in Montezuma County rise, the Montezuma-Cortez School District announced Monday afternoon it will transition its in-person students to online learning Thursday, Nov. 12.
The school district plans to return to in-person learning on Jan. 11, depending on the number of active cases in the county.
Last week, the school district made the decision to move in-person students online on Nov. 30, after the Thanksgiving holiday, through mid-January. A statement released by the school district last week said “small group and family gatherings over Thanksgiving and Christmas are likely to increase the spread of the coronavirus.”
But the number of COVID-19 cases has increased dramatically, and by Monday morning, 34 staff members in the Cortez schools were under quarantine. And a recent COVID-19 exposure at Kemper Elementary School forced over 100 students to quarantine.
“It is impacting our ability to keep our schools staffed,” Superintendent Lori Haukeness said in a phone interview, and the district “doesn’t have the substitutes.”
The number of positive cases of the virus in Montezuma County increased from 244 to 314 in one week as of Monday, according to the county Public Health Department.
Haukeness said students will stay with their current teachers and classmates in the transition to online learning, and keep the same curriculum. Teachers will meet with students via Zoom and Google Meet while also using the Colorado Digital Learning Solutions Platform.
Teachers will set students up with their login information and Chromebooks over the next few days to make the transition as smooth as possible, Haukeness said.
Students already on CDLS will remain on the online platform with option of transitioning to in-person or online learning with a Montezuma-Cortez School District teacher before students return to school buildings Jan. 11.
“Our first priority is to have students in person, and we will bring them back as soon as possible,” Haukeness said. But the increase in cases among staff has pushed the district to “make a difficult decision for the safety of all,” she said.
The district is hosting a parent town hall with a member of the Montezuma County Public Health Department to answer questions Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m.
“We do realize what a hardship this is for everyone,” Haukeness said.
The school district has created more internet hot spots since the start of the school year to increase internet access for students, but “it is still not where we need it to be,” the superintendent said.
More staff members with the district will be assigned to the role of helping students login to CDLS and find workarounds to accessing the internet, such as parking in a nearby lot with a hot spot.
The district has applied to several grants to help schools in rural areas create opportunities for internet access, as well, Haukeness said, but the schools have not received responses.
A grab-and-go meal service will be available starting Monday, Nov. 16, and the order form will be available by Friday on the district website and Facebook page.
Gov. Jared Polis is urging Coloradans to socialize only with other household members and wear a mask to help get the number of cases back down.
“People know what to do, we just need to do it,” Polis said in a news release.
Over 10,000 Coloradans were hospitalized with the virus as of Monday, and over 2,100 people have died because of the virus.
The decision came after some parents urged the school district to close earlier than Thanksgiving.
“Given the warning the hospital put out, waiting two or so weeks to close the schools again isn’t going to be a very healthy choice given the potential for kids to be exposed then bring it home to family members getting together for the holidays,” Kim Sanzone told The Journal last week. Her son attends Southwest Open School.
Janet Mehesy’s oldest child chose to go online for the year, but her younger child attends the Kiva Montessori School.
“They should probably just close (the schools) now,” Mehesy said. “The sooner the better – a lot more people are testing positive.”
ehayes@the-journal.com