Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School is going to all virtual learning for the first week after Thanksgiving and winter vacations to avoid any potential spread of COVID.
The school is currently on a hybrid learning system in three different groups. Group A comes to school Mondays and Wednesdays and Group B comes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students in both groups learn virtually while they are not in school.
Group C learns virtually five days a week, but the students connect with their teachers Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
The students are learning virtually for the current week as they are just returning from Thanksgiving break.
“Because we knew that a lot of people were probably traveling, we decided to do this week in virtual in order to make sure individual teachers, kids who were traveling would have a chance for individual symptoms that would show so they were not entering the building unintentionally exposed to COVID,” said Clarksdale Collegiate Public School executive director Amanda Johnson.
The students will be back to the hybrid model of learning next week through Dec. 17. Winter break will be the following two weeks.
“Most likely we will have a week of virtual with the same logic,” said Johnson about coming back after winter break.
“We need to be mindful of the number (COVID cases) that is happening. Hopefully, we will be back to hybrid after that week.”
Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School is encouraging everyone to stay safe at all times.
“Obviously, we’re advising people to socially distance while they’re not here and not gather in groups,” Johnson said. “We haven’t explicitly said do not travel.”
However, Johnson said she hopes families are practicing social distancing at home during the COVID pandemic, just as the kids are in school.
“I just want to remind people that we are operating in a pandemic,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, you have to make decisions based on what’s happening locally and in the state. That makes a challenge to make decisions. We’re trying to set our decisions with students.”
