Citing the rise in COVID-19 case numbers in Ramsey County, the Saint Paul Public School District on Monday officially began distance learning for Stage 1 schools and programs.
In a letter posted to the district's website on November 13, SPPS superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard wrote, "Yesterday’s COVID-19 positivity rate for Ramsey County reached 50 per 10,000 residents. The numbers are only going one direction : up. Additional reports of COVID-19 cases and potential external exposure make it imperative that we take action now to dial back in-person programming across SPPS."
Dr. Gothard told WCCO Radio's Dave Lee on Monday morning about the difficult decision to make the change.
"We were able to get some of students with the most highest needs into a hybrid-schedule back on October 19 which was the beginning of this rise in cases that we're seeing," Dr. Gothard said. "We're really sad to say we had to pull back today and bring everyone back to distance learning which will be in for several weeks until we get this disease under control."
The challenges of distancing learning and hybrid learning has led to many different impacts on people, particularly staff.
"We typically see 40 requests per year for ADA accommodations from staff and we're over 400 already this years," Gothard said.
Gothard says he recognizes the significant challenges that distance learning presents for students all across the district.
"We have a lot of dependent learners in education in general. Whether it's children who are too young to read, or struggle to read. A lot of our distance learning is done with heavy-text where children have to read to access the information, but our teachers have done a great job," he said. "I think what our students miss the most is that social interaction with their peers or teachers."
The move to distance learning for Stage 1 schools and programs will last through at least January 19.
The move to distance learning impacts services and programs at RiverEast, Journeys, Bridge View, Focus Beyond and other Stage 1 sites. Other areas impacted include SPPS staff at non-public school sites; Extended Day for Learning (EDL) at Washington Technology Magnet School; Special Education and English Language Learner in-person assessments;Student Placement Center enrollment and Early Childhood screening.
