Superintendent Update 11/9/2020
{I have received numerous calls and I apologize for not being clear on this issue when this was first published. The elementary will stay in hybrid for the foreseeable future. We have no plans at this time to move them to distance learning. However, this will be addressed on a weekly basis as all issues are on Thursday of every week.}
As I stated last week, we continue to monitor our in-house numbers on a weekly basis following the release of our county and district numbers every Thursday. Last week we had 1 student and 1 staff member test positive with 11 staff members quarantined along with 66 students. One thing to remember, any student and staff member that are in quarantine have not necessarily tested positive for COVID-19. They have had direct contact with someone who did test positive.
The information we are receiving from Stearns County is the virus is still in the phase of a “substantial community spread”. Our county number increased 15 points from last week and now stands at 81.50. Information we received from county officials last week is that there will be a consistent rise in this number through early January.
The projection for next week is for the number to increase to around 110.70. This is a number that would have been unbelievable at the beginning of the school year when the number at that time stood at 18.62. One of the questions that I have been asked is when do you think we will return? As I told the Incident Command Team last week I would be a little cautious about setting an artificial date when our current numbers show no sign of decreasing. I am hopeful we can return after Thanksgiving. Perhaps by then we will start to see some trending down of our county and district numbers. The Incident Command Team will continue to process all of the information on a weekly basis.
We are aware this past week was a difficult transition for some of our middle school and high school students to go to distance learning. I met with both of the principals this morning to see how our first week of distance learning went and if any improvements can be made. We will also continue the “C” days/learning plus days on our calendars to give students an opportunity to come into the school and meet with their teachers for any assistance they may need.
If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me or any of the building principals.
Greg Winter, Superintendent: gwinter@isd740.org
Chad Doetkott, High School Principal cdoetkott@isd740.org
Robert Anderson, Middle School Principal randerson@isd740.org
Terryl Pearson, Elementary School Principal tpearson@isd740.org