Local school corporations still intend to move ahead with their announced plans for the new semester.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. plans to start on Tuesday, with in-person five days a week for elementary schools and hybrid learning for secondary schools. BCSC superintendent Jim Roberts said that virtual options are still available for all students.
The Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. intends to begin Jan. 11 with in-person learning. Superintendent Shawn Price said he would like to make an announcement regarding the school corporation’s plans by next Wednesday, Jan. 6. He also said that virtual options are still available for students.
BCSC
BCSC confirmed its plans in a statement released Thursday afternoon. The statement noted that “The need for a hybrid model for secondary students will be continually evaluated, but will remain in place for at least two weeks (through Friday, Jan. 15).”
The hybrid learning schedule can be viewed at bcscschools.org. It splits students into two groups by last name. Secondary students with surnames A-K will attend in person on Monday and Tuesday and do eLearning Wednesday through Friday. Secondary students L-Z will do eLearning Monday through Wednesday and attend in person Thursday and Friday.
In regards to block scheduling for high school students, Monday and Thursday are A days, and Tuesday and Friday are B days.
The hybrid model, as approved in October, uses the state’s color categories for different levels of community spread to recommend different actions for BCSC. It suggests utilizing hybrid learning for secondary schools if there is moderate to high community spread (orange) and all schools if there is high community spread (red). The county is currently in orange with a score of 2.5.
Roberts said that the school corporation is pleased to see the local per capita positive rate is going down, though he did note that hospitalizations remain around 50, and the percent positive test rate is staying close to 40%. BCSC officials had conversations with medical professionals on Thursday about the latest metrics.
In regards to a potential post-holiday spike, Roberts said that in the past, spikes attributable to school breaks and holidays didn’t start to show until 35 to 38 days after the break.
If there is an increase due to Thanksgiving break, it would start to show up right about now, whereas a potential increase from winter break would not show until toward the end of January. Roberts said that the school corporation has not seen a Thanksgiving-related spike as of yet, though he noted that one could still happen.
Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp.
Price said that it is still the Flat Rock-Hawcreek’s “intention” to start in-person on Jan. 11, as long as it’s safe to do so. Jan. 11 will be the start date for the new semester, whether it begins in-person or online.
“We’re going to continue to monitor that data to make a good, informed decision,” he said. “And really, we want to work in collaboration with our county health department and those officials that are watching those numbers even closer than we are.”
The school corporation also intends to keep in touch with representatives from Columbus Regional Hospital, he said.
If Bartholomew County were to move into red on the county metrics map, it would “factor into” the school corporation’s decisions, he said.
“There would definitely be a conversation that would need to be had with those, again, with those officials I’ve mentioned and ask for their expertise on what’s driving our numbers in any particular direction,” Price said. “So we’re really going to be analyzing all of those factors. And obviously, if we went to red, we’d be having a conversation around that to try to frame our decision.”
Flat Rock-Hawcreek is asking families and staff members to continue reporting COVID-19 cases over the break. At present, they are not seeing a spike in reported cases, thought he noted school officials are relying on people to self-report without direct contact with these individuals right now.
Individuals should report COVID-19 cases by calling their building’s nurse and leaving a message. The health staff will follow up with them from there.
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BCSC’s statement and hybrid learning schedule for secondary schools may be viewed at bcscschools.org.
For more on Flat Rock-Hawcreek’s plans to move to in-person learning with an online option on Jan. 11, go the school corporation’s Facebook pages for Hope Elementary School and Hauser Jr./Sr. High School, as well as Hauser’s Twitter, @HauserJrSrHigh.
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