A total of 7 Schuylkill County public school districts will have students attending virtually when classes resume this week.
Many local school districts still have Monday as a scheduled day off. But last week, for the most part, some schools began making plans to keep students away from in-person classes.
The moves are being called a proactive measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Schools realize that students likely will have attended Thanksgiving gatherings and could have acquired the virus at one of these events.
7 Schuylkill County School Districts Going Virtual This Week
Here are the 7 school districts in Schuylkill County planning for virtual classes all week:
Saint Clair Staying Virtual Another Week
On Friday, Saint Clair Area Superintendent Thomas McLaughlin announced 2 more staff members at the school had been infected with COVID-19. Because of that and an “alarming increase in positive cases in our county,” the school was staying virtual for another week.
Saint Clair Area plans to go back to in-person learning on Dec. 7.
Mahanoy Area Going Full Virtual Out of Thanksgiving Break
When students at Mahanoy Area return to school on Tuesday this week, they’ll be attending virtually.
According to a report from The Shenandoah Sentinel, the decision to go virtual this week was made as an attempt to mitigate any potential transmission of COVID-19 among students and family members over the Thanksgiving holiday.
North Schuylkill Decides on Full Virtual Week after Holiday
North Schuylkill School District was the first local school to get the full-virtual after Thanksgiving trend started. Back on Nov. 21, school Superintendent Robert Ackell said North Schuylkill was trying to be proactive in going to a full virtual schedule the week after Thanksgiving.
“It is our hope that this period will give us time to restore our staffing levels, providing a pathway back into schools,” he wrote to parents.
Blue Mountain High School, Elementary East Virtual This Week
On Nov. 25, Blue Mountain Superintendent David H. Helsel wrote to parents that 9 positive cases of COVID-19 in Blue Mountain High School pushed administrators to keep the school virtual for the week after Thanksgiving.
A rising number of positive COVID-19 cases at Blue Mountain Elementary-East are causing the school to go completely virtual this week, too.
All other Blue Mountain schools will go back to in-person learning out of the holiday break.
Schuylkill Haven Cites Uptick in Positive COVID Cases in Going Virtual Week After Thanksgiving
On Nov. 25, just before the Thanksgiving break, Schuylkill Haven Area Superintendent Shawn Fitzpatrick announced that a rise in COVID-19 cases within the district caused administrators to go fully virtual this week.
Haven students will return to some form of in-person instruction on Dec. 7.
Williams Valley Going Virtual When Students Return from Holiday Break
Students in the Williams Valley School District are off the first two days this week. But when they return to school this week, it’ll be virtually. Williams Valley announced that Dec. 2-4 will be full virtual school days.
Minersville Area Staying Virtual for a Second Week
Students at Minersville Area will attend classes virtually for a second week this week when they resume on Tuesday. In a letter to parents, Minersville Area Superintendent Carl McBreen said the all-virtual format could be extended beyond this week.
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