Fountain Hills Unified School District schools returned to their hybrid schedules after two weeks of remote learning at home following the conclusion of winter break.
Even though it is a new year, …
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COVID continues to create hurdles for education
Posted
Joey Postiglione, Reporter
Fountain Hills Unified School District schools returned to their hybrid schedules after two weeks of remote learning at home following the conclusion of winter break.
Even though it is a new year, the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging in Arizona and across the county, meaning that many places are still in some form of lockdown. That is why the District decided to start the new year off with remote learning.
“It was our intent for these two weeks to be a chance for people who might have travelled or attending large gatherings over the holiday to stay home for two weeks,” Superintendent Kelly Glass explained. “That way, enough time has passed for any symptoms or cases to pop up.”
However, Glass said it is the District’s intention and hope to return to in-person learning a soon as possible.
“We really want to get our kids back into the classroom,” Glass said. “It really is the best place for them. They learn the best when they are in the classroom.”
To get back to the classroom sooner, Glass is calling on parents to be more vigilant when it comes to how their student is feeling
“What is really going to impede the return to classrooms are people who come to school with COVID-like symptoms,” Glass said. “We really want our parents to be even more vigilant than they were before, when it comes to monitoring their child’s health.”
Statewide plans
On Jan. 11, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey delivered his seventh State of the State address, where he signaled that it was time for students to return to the classroom.
“With every public-health professional, from Dr. Fauci and the CDC on down, saying that the safest place for kids to be is in school, we will not be funding empty seats or allowing schools to remain in a perpetual state of closure,” Ducey said. “Children still need to learn, even in a pandemic.”
Ducey’s statements received some push-back by State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman.
“The key to reopening our school buildings is getting control of COVID-19,” Hoffman said. “Where vaccines are available, educators have signed up enthusiastically. However, vaccines are not available in all 15 counties, and in some rural counties, the demand exceed the supply. While vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, the raging virus impacts schools now.”
