As COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Chatham County because of the omicron variant, the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) will maintain its coronavirus protocols for the second semester and will hold in-person learning five days a week — with virtual learning employed as needed, as was the case at three district high schools this week.
Kurt Hetager, chief public affairs and administrative services officer for SCCPSS, said rolling closures are expected in the future because of increasing cases and the impact it could have on school staffing and students.
Credit: Bianca Moorman/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Bianca Moorman/Savannah Morning News
"As a school district, we are committed to holding in-person learning five days a week," he said. "So we want all of our parents and our families to know that there is the potential in any given week, depending on transmission or service availability from staff outages, that we could shift to virtual. Rolling closures could be something that is part of our regular narrative over the next couple of weeks."
On Monday, Beach, Islands and Johnson high schools had to switch to virtual learning for the rest of the week because of confirmed positive COVID cases among staff and students that is impacting staff availability, Ramon Ray, the district's chief human resource officer said. The three schools are scheduled resume in-person learning on Jan. 18.
Bernadette Ball-Oliver, SCCPSS associate superintendent secondary schools, said that even though the three schools moved to a virtual format, staff who are well enough are providing online instruction for students.
With virtual learning, teachers are able to stagger schedules to meet the needs of students without requiring the district to bring in additional staff, said Ball-Oliver. "Our students have one-to-one devices, and our teachers have devices and they have posted links, so that students log on to a virtual classroom where the teacher is there to provide instruction."
COVID numbers for SCCPSS
As of Monday, the Coastal Health District confirmed 591 new COVID-19 cases in Chatham County. Since students returned to school last week, COVID-19 cases in the district have increased, as well.
According to the district's weekly COVID-19 tracking report, on Jan. 7, 728 students and 340 personnel tested positive. The district also reported 2,859 students and 235 personal were in quarantine due to a positive case or exposure.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
As for the three high schools that went virtual earlier this week, the district confirmed that 14 students and six personnel have tested positive at Beach High School and 49 students and 13 personnel were in quarantine.
Additionally at Islands High School, 30 students and three personnel have tested positive for COVID-19, while 77 students and six personnel were in quarantine. Finally, at Johnson High School, three students and three personnel have tested positive for COVID-19, while students and 15 personnel were in quarantine.
COVID numbers for Effingham, Bryan County school districts
For the week of Jan.3, the Effingham County School District COVID-19 dashboard reported 17 students and 19 staff tested positive for COVID-19. That was an increase of 15 total cases from the week of Dec. 6, which was the last time the district reported COVID cases.
For the week of Jan. 3, Bryan County schools reported 109 students and staff who tested positive for COVID-19. The total includes students and staff at the elementary, middle and high schools. The week of winter break, Dec. 17, the district only reported two positive COVID cases among students and staff across the entire district.
Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or 912-239-7706. Find her on Twitter @biancarmoorman.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-Chatham schools to stay in-person five days a week, will switch to virtual as needed
The Latest
Featured
