Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District has seen more positive COVID-19 cases within its first two days returning to classes than it did within any week during the previous school year.
SOCSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas reported to the board of trustees Tuesday there had been 49 positive cases within students across the district from just this past Thursday and Friday. In comparison, the highest case number the district saw during an entire week during the 2020-21 school year was 17.
“This means that they were sick when their parents sent them to school,” SOCSD Board President Sumner Davis said.
About eight faculty and staff members reported positive cases so far this school year, Thomas reported.
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, students exposed in a classroom setting that are wearing a mask and observing a three-foot social distance, they are not required to quarantine, Thomas said. Therefore, not all of the exposed students from this past week have to quarantine unless they begin to show symptoms.
SOCSD requires mask wearing inside its facilities.
“With the new MSDH guidance, if you’re wearing a mask in a classroom setting, it’s not considered a close contact, so those students are not required to quarantine,” Thomas said.
Superintendent Eddie Peasant said the district is looking into options for teachers and staff members who have received the vaccine, including COVID relief days.
“We know that we have a lot of teachers who haven’t accumulated sick leave yet… if they prove that they’ve been vaccinated or provide something from the doctor saying that they can’t get vaccinated, then they (would) qualify for COVID leave days,” Peasant said. “We’re working on a plan for that.”
At this time, the district has returned to strictly in-person classes with no virtual option available to students. Thomas said SOCSD came to this decision after recommendations from the Mississippi Department of Education that a fully in-person instruction would be the most beneficial to student learning.
Peasant said he and other staff members are closely monitoring COVID numbers each day and will make adjustments to the schedule if an outbreak occurs within the district — a 25-percent threshold of positive cases within faculty, staff and students would call for reevaluation.
“I don’t know how long we will be able to keep our students in school, but we will continue to monitor it,” Peasant said. “When it seems that our masks are not being effective, then we will reevaluate our plans and work from there.”
While many may be satisfied their children can physically return to school, some parents and guardians are concerned about their students’ well-being by having to return in-person.
Lisa Wilson, a grandmother of a student, told the board at Tuesday’s meeting it should highly consider providing an online learning option for students who may feel more comfortable learning in that kind of environment at this time. She said the board should be proactive, not reactive by waiting for something bad to happen to initiate a virtual plan.
“My granddaughter is in fourth grade, and I’m really, really fearful of this Delta variant,” Wilson said. “I would like to see if possible somehow a virtual learning option be made available before something bad happens.”
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