Schools Across the U.S. Are Already Switching Back to Remote Learning Amid COVID-19 Surge

(ATLANTA) — A few weeks into the new school year, growing numbers of U.S. districts have halted in-person learning or switched to hybrid models because of rapidly mounting coronavirus infections. More than 80 school districts or charter networks have closed or delayed in-person classes for at least one entire school in more than a dozen states. Others have sent home whole grade levels or asked half their students to stay home on hybrid schedules. The setbacks in mostly small, rural districts that were among the first to return dampen hopes for a sustained, widespread return to classrooms after two years of schooling disrupted by the pandemic. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Read More: Parents Had Dreamed of a Smooth Return to School This Fall. This Is the Nightmare We’re Facing Instead In Georgia, where in-person classes are on hold in more than 20 districts that started the school year without mask requirements, some superintendents say the virus appeared to be spreading in schools before they sent students home. “We just couldn’t manage it with that much staff out, having to cover classes and the spread so rapid,” said Eddie Morris, superintendent of the 1,050-student Johnson County district in Georgia. With 40% of students in quarantine or isolation, the district shifted last week to online instruction until Sept. 13. More than 1 of every 100 school-aged children has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two weeks in Georgia, a...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Education healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news