HANCOCK COUNTY — The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting schedule changes for Mt. Vernon students when they return from Thanksgiving break through the rest of the semester.
In a message to parents and guardians Tuesday, Mt. Vernon superintendent Jack Parker said the new schedules for in-person students will start Monday, Nov. 30 and last through Friday, Jan. 15.
“We have known since the summer that our next few months would likely be our most difficult,” Parker said in his message. “Flu season, compounded with people spending less time outdoors, has always been challenging. Adding COVID-19 to this mix, and the requirements of contact tracing, we are expecting the possibility of seeing additional school closures during the winter months. While that scenario may be unavoidable, we believe our chances to maintain in-person learning will greatly increase with a change in schedules.”
Mt. Vernon High School students will remain on a hybrid schedule but attend in-person school on the same two days each week, according to the message. Details on which days each group will be in school will be included in the high school’s newsletter distributed to parents later this week. Thursdays will be virtual for all students.
K-8 students will go to school in person on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and have virtual instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Mini-Marauder Preschool will remain open as long as staffing can support the learning environment.
“While we hope that this solution will give us the best chance to maintain some in-person learning for an extended period of time, we have learned in this pandemic that things can change very quickly,” Parker said. “It is still possible that we will again have to close one or more of our schools. It is also possible that we will extend this new schedule for several more weeks beyond January 15.”
The school corporation plans to inform parents in December what expectations are for schedules beyond the first semester, according to the message.
Early release on Wednesdays will also be suspended during the time of alternating schedules, the message continued, adding information about meal distribution is forthcoming.
“We know that this creates great hardship for our families,” Parker said. “We are doing everything we can to keep our schools open. Thankfully, our data is showing that it is extremely unlikely that anyone is transmitting the coronavirus while in school. This is most assuredly due to the diligence of our students and staff in maintaining our COVID procedures, as well as our phenomenal nursing staff in contact tracing and putting students and staff on quarantine when necessary.”
Parker encouraged families to remain diligent with COVID-19 precautions like social distancing, wearing face coverings and watching for symptoms along with not coming to school if experiencing symptoms, if a household member is sick or awaiting COVID-19 test results.
