Beginning Monday, February 1st, students Pre-K through 8th grade will return to the classroom for in-person learning. They will follow the same learning model they had when they left school back in December.
High School students in grades 9 through 12 will be able to return to the classroom in a phased approach after the Mardi Gras break. High school students with special needs or special learning requirements will return to classroom learning in small groups of no more than 15 students on Monday. The rest of the high school student population will return to the school systems' hybrid-learning model by February 22nd.
Orleans Parish School Board Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis made the announcement Wednesday following Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s announcement the city will be rolling back COVID-19 restrictions to the city's modified Phase 2.
“As we continue to monitor the data we will also begin to phase in high school students with plans to fully return to our working hybrid model for high school students after Mardi Gras break,” said Superintendent Lewis.
OPSB Chief Operations Officer, Tiffany Delcour says the Louisiana Department of Health’s recent data shows the positive test rate in New Orleans is now four percent.
“We’ve also seen declining trends in new cases continue from the peak that we have seen in January,” said Delcour. “These two important metrics plus sustained access of testing, and stabilization in our hospitalizations tells us this is the right time to transition to in-person learning for our youngest learners.”
As of January 25, the NOLA Public School’s COVID Tracker reports 15 active student COVID-19 cases, 26 covid positive staff members, and 112 quarantine cases across all schools in Orleans Parish.
