SANDUSKY, Ohio — Sandusky High School and Sandusky Middle School will transition to virtual learning for at least this week after four high school faculty members tested positive for COVID-19, the district superintendent announced Sunday afternoon.
"We have determined that we need to take the following steps in order to protect the children and our faculty staff and the larger Sandusky community, primarily due to the delta variant that appears to be still rampant both in our community, throughout the state and across the nation," said Dr. Eugene Sanders, CEO and Superintendent for Sandusky City Schools, in a video message posted Sunday afternoon.
Staff and students at both schools will use Monday to transition to a virtual learning environment, with online instruction through Google Classrooms set to begin on Tuesday through Friday, Sanders said.
"It's about keeping them safe," said Albert Parker, a parent who has a 7th grader and 8th grader at the middle school. "Us parents got caught off guard but it's about the kids and their safety is the most important thing."
"I don't have a problem with it actually," said grandmother Jeannie Michaels. "I worry about them with COVID."
A return to in-person learning is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 7, but the district will provide an update on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6, Sanders said.
“This transition is an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 cases within the high school and middle school buildings,” states a news release from the district. “The district’s goal is to make COVID-based decisions on a building-by-building format and conduct school as regularly as possible in as many cases as possible. Our goal is to be in school.”
The high school and middle school buildings will be open Monday morning to allow students the chance to pick up any materials or technology they may need for the rest of the week, including laptops for any students who do not yet have one.
Extracurricular activities will continue as scheduled at this time, and coaches and advisors will resume safety protocols that were in place last year, the release states.
The Erie County Health Department was also on-site at the SHS Auditorium on Monday morning to provide free COVID rapid testing to any staff member or student that requested one.
More details on the virtual learning schedule can be found here.
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