Minneapolis Public Schools Preps To Return To In-Person Learning Next Week
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Public Schools is preparing to go back to in-person learning next week.
For the past week and-a-half, students in the district have been doing their school work from home. Earlier this month, the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant led to hundreds of staff and students getting sick and unable to show up for class, compromising the district's ability to keep up in-person learning.
On Monday, Minneapolis students are slated to return to the classroom, district officials say. Afterschool programming, which was postponed during the online learning period, will also resume. No changes have been made to busing.
In preparation for the change, district officials say that Thursday will be a planning day for teachers while students will work online. Friday will be a no-school day for students and a record-keeping day for teachers.
Looking ahead, the district says that staff will continue to monitor teacher absences and consult with the district's outside COVID-19 support team. Certain schools may need to move to online learning again in the future. However, the district said that it's not declaring thresholds for staffing or other factors that would lead a school to move to distance learning.
"In the event that temporary online learning is the best option for a school community, we will give students, staff and families at that school as much advance notice as possible, and we encourage students to continue taking devices home every day in the meantime," the district said in a statement.
Amid the Omicron surge, a number of other Twin Cities districts shifted to temporary online learning, such as Osseo, Richfield, Roseville, and Farmington. St. Paul Public Schools remained in in-person learning and it led, in part, to a student walkout over the district's COVID-19 policies.
This week, seven St. Paul Public Schools shifted to distance learning, although all seven of the schools are slated to go back to in-person learning by Friday.
