JESSIEVILLE — With recent rising numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantines among students and staff, the Jessieville School District switched to remote learning Tuesday and today.

The district’s decision follows that of the Lake Hamilton, Fountain Lake, Mountain Pine and Cutter Morning Star school districts, along with the Hot Springs Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School, going virtual for two days last week by using Alternative Methods of Instruction days. Each of them returned to on-campus learning Tuesday.

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Jessieville Superintendent Melissa Speers said Tuesday that while students are away from campus, staff members are deep-cleaning and sanitizing all areas of campus. As of Tuesday morning, of the 824 student population, 43 were listed as active positive COVID-19 cases and 110 were quarantined. Out of 127 staff members, eight were active, while six were quarantined.

“Last week when some of the other schools were feeling the need to go virtual and use their AMI days, we kept looking at it and watching our numbers every single day and I kept saying, ‘We’re doing OK,”https://www.hotsr.com/news/2022/jan/19/watch-jessieville-takes-2-day-virtual-pivot-after/”We’re going to hang in there,”https://www.hotsr.com/news/2022/jan/19/watch-jessieville-takes-2-day-virtual-pivot-after/”As long as we can keep staff here.’ And as the week progressed, our numbers just kept growing, growing, growing,” Speers said.

“It was putting a strain on the staff to have to do contact tracing. We had several staff test positive. So the administrators and I made the decision on Friday after looking at our numbers that it would be in our best interest to take a couple of days.”

Speers said the three-day weekend would also play in their favor.

“We already had a three-day weekend,” she said. “If we took a couple of days on the other side of that three-day weekend, that would give us time to do some even more deep cleaning and disinfecting. (It) would give us a few days away from campus so that there wouldn’t be as much contact tracing, you know, when we came back on Thursday if there are potential positives that pop up. This will give people some time to, hopefully, stay home, keep their students at home, away from others, and maybe put a stop to the spread.”

While there are no athletic practices or games during the two days, teachers are available to help students virtually throughout the day and meals are being provided for families from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m.

Speers said the two-day break will help out their staffing situation, as well. The pool of substitute teachers is “not very deep” right now, but last year the district was able to use some of its extra Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to hire two extra paraprofessionals to use as permanent substitute teachers, she said.

“So what we’ve done, we’ve got a couple of really large areas — our performing arts center, our safe room — where if we have multiple staff out that we can’t get substitutes in, we are spreading the students out in those areas and we’re staffing that with a couple of paraprofessionals. So they’re walking around and able to manage four or five classes at the same time,” she said.

Several staff members are just getting over their COVID-19 sickness, she said, while some have just tested positive, or their children have just tested positive.

“I think it’s going to benefit them, as well,” she said. “And we’ve put all of the technology in their hands to be able to work from home — to teach virtually from home. Some of them we’ve told them that if they need to come up here, if they don’t have adequate Wi-Fi and internet at home, if they need to come, they can come into their classrooms and work from there. So I think it’s going to help them, as well.”

Speers said it seems that most of the positive infections are coming from out-of-school contact but they are beginning to see more in school now and more test positive after being quarantined.

“I still feel like a lot of it is happening outside of school, a lot of the contact,” she said. “We are stressing to our teachers, you know, keep them separate as much as you can, at least 3 feet or more. Disinfect. Every teacher’s got hand sanitizer, sanitizer for the desks that they’re doing between every transition, so we’re doing our best and I have asked parents to help us out with that and keep their students at home to the extent possible and don’t send them if they’re sick.”

The district held a drive-thru clinic Tuesday afternoon for those students and staff who were symptomatic.

Speers said she understands the strain AMI classes put students’ families under but is optimistic it will benefit everyone in the long run.

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Originally Appeared Here