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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Ely distance learning in place until January 11

Keith Vandervort
Posted 12/9/20

ELY – School buildings here will stay mostly empty through the holidays and at least through Jan. 11, 2021, as ISD 696 again shifted to full-time distance learning for all students last week. …

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Ely distance learning in place until January 11

Posted

ELY – School buildings here will stay mostly empty through the holidays and at least through Jan. 11, 2021, as ISD 696 again shifted to full-time distance learning for all students last week. This marks the second time in 2020 that Ely students were sent home due to public health concerns over the continuing and expanding coronavirus pandemic.
“The decision to move to distance learning has been a difficult one as we recognize that most students learn best with in-person instruction and that our teachers are most effective at engaging students when we provide in-person learning,” said Superintendent Erik Erie.
The school district’s Ely Safe Learning Plan Advisory Council (ESLPAC) gathered in a mostly virtual setting late last week and reviewed the current northern St. Louis County COVID-19 case rate data dashboard that showed another increase, 67.5 positive coronavirus cases per 10,000 people, up from 58.2 the previous week and 60.1 two weeks ago.
“Given the most recent COVID-19 case rate data from St. Louis County and the increase of cases in the Ely area, we felt the move was necessary,” he said. ‘The administration does not make this important decision in isolation, which affects so many in our school and community.”
The central portion of St. Louis County indicated a positive rate of 138.5 cases, a gigantic spike from 72.92 just in the last week.. The Duluth area also showed a positive case rate increase from 105.02 to 169.7 in the last week. All schools in St. Louis County indicated a positive case rate increase from 91.1 to 151.7.
“We had the smallest increase, compared to the other case rates. If you look at the dramatic increases of those areas, we are only at 67.5, certainly not as significant as these others, but still over the 50 threshold mark” Erie said.
According to the school district’s “Restart Blueprint,” approved in August, the COVID-19 positive-rate data chart indicated that distance learning would be in place for any report of 50-plus.
“Even Lake County, part of the ISD 696 school district, just reported their first deaths of the year due to COVID-19,” he added. “They now have six deaths. And St. Louis County is now at 122 deaths, among 9,625 cases. There is not a county in the state that is below 50.”
Erie reported that the Ely school community had zero positive cases as of late last week, with 11 cumulative positive cases for the school year.
Child care for Ely students began on Dec. 3
“If you need child care, both parents must fill out the Verification of Employment Form and submit it to the elementary office,” Erie said. “Early release on Wednesdays will continue through the distance learning period to provide teachers additional prep time,” he added.
School lunch meals will be served on school days during distance learning. Curbside pickup will occur between noon and 12:30 p.m. at the South Door of the Memorial building (near the cafeteria). Each student will be provided a free hot lunch pack out, as well as a bagged breakfast for the following day.
“If lunch delivery is required for your family, a bagged, cold lunch will be provided,” Erie said. Call Kim Puzel at 218-365-1735 to reserve your student’s lunch.
Return to school?
After the holiday break, classes will resume as scheduled on Monday, Jan. 4, in the distance learning model.
“At this time, we are hoping to return to (in-person) school on Monday, Jan. 11, pending county, school, and local case rate data review, along with consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health,” Erie said.
“We hear parents loud and clear that they would like to see us safely have their students back in school,” he said. “We will be looking for guidance on how and when we bring students back in.”
Ely school board member Tom Omerza inquired how school officials will track the number of school community positive cases while under the distance-learning protocols.
“How will you know who is sick and is there machinery in place to track that until they are set to come back?” he asked.
Erie responded, “We still want families to call the school nurse if they are positive and have (coronavirus) transmission. We are trying to find a way to track that.”
The school nurse continues to track any positive or negative test results.
Tom Omerza added, “We put great emphasis on the school being a safe place. That has proven out since September. It is probably the safest place for kids to be. It is not just the school’s responsibility to maintain a safe environment. It is parents’ responsibility, too. When you have groups of kids at the same house doing distance learning, that defeats the purpose of staying safe. I feel there is too much of a reliance on the school to keep everything under control. The sooner we can get the kids back into school, I’m all for.”
Memorial building school teacher Tim Omerza said the first couple of days of distance learning last week were largely uneventful.
“We have the same concerns as we did in the spring that a small percentage of kids are just not showing up and doing much. Personally, out of 106 kids I have, just four were missing on the second day,” he said.
Erie said that staff and teachers have the option of working from home or their classroom during the distance-learning period. “The majority of our faculty are here teaching in the building,” he said.
School sports
ISD 696 Athletic Director Tom Coombe reviewed the Minnesota State High School League’s approval of a flexible plan for the restart of winter activities when clearance is provided by state governmental leaders.
“We are waiting for the four-week pause to come to an end,” he said. That is scheduled to expire on Dec. 18. “We’re just waiting on the governor right now and waiting to get back.”
Should athletics be able to restart practice on Dec. 21, competitions could take place beginning on or after Jan. 4.
“We know that the state and our schools are facing extremely high case counts and that adjustments in the models may need to take place, and if so, we are ready to make those adjustments in our calendar,” said Erich Martens, Executive Director of the Minnesota State High School League. “Should the winter season restart get pushed later, we may see shorter seasons and fewer games.”
Moderate adjustments in the winter season are accounted for and are likely to result in minimal disruption to the spring sports seasons. Included in the scheduling models are weeks designated for section play and a potential state tournament.
The scheduling models also include a projected view of spring activities to maintain a traditional number of spring season contests and an end date of no later than June 19, 2021.