With COVID 19 Surging Again in Arizona, Some School Districts Start to Go Back to Virtual Learning

With people getting the Coronavirus increasing again (especially in the rural parts of the Grand Canyon State,) some individual Arizona public schools and districts have decided to resume solely virtual instruction for the next couple of weeks.

Paradise Valley Unified will resume virtual online instruction on November 23, 2020.

Acqua Fria went back to online instruction on November 9, 2020.

Litchfield Park Elementary has gone online as well.

So has Camp Verde High School in Gilbert.

Please click here to access the Arizona Department of Education site which has links to the reopening status of public traditional, county, and charter schools.

In a statement released to the public, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman wrote:

“As cases of #COVID19 continue to rise across our state, schools should be consulting with their local health partners regarding their instructional models.”

“Arizona schools are doing their best to mitigate the spread of #COVID19 on their campuses but are vulnerable to rising community spread. Every Arizonan, including our winter visitors, must understand how their behavior and choices impact the success and safety of our students and teachers.”

“I know many of us have grown tired of the sacrifices necessary to stop the spread of #COVID19. But as cases rise and schools once again consider closing in-person learning, we must have the resolve to support our students and do what we can to stop the spread. Please remember to: always wear a mask in public, stay home when possible, avoid large gatherings, wash your hands, and get your flu shot.”

Earlier in the week, the Superintendent and Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Crist hosted an event that called on families to halt/reduce small and large gathering events like attending school sporting events, having after school or weekend parties, or hosting sleepovers.

There is also a great concern about the increase in student suicides this year and the need to provide greater counseling and mental health services during the pandemic.

With COVID 19 surging, it is important to take all steps to ensure public safety. Unfortunately, that may mean going back to full virtual instruction for some schools and districts.

It probably means halting small and large gatherings for events like weekend parties and holidays like Thanksgiving.

It is better to make take the increased preventive steps now, keep people alive and well, and wait for the vaccine.

That is a better strategy than letting people do what they want like nothing is wrong which would allow greater increases in both those infected with the Coronavirus and the subsequent mortality numbers.

Hopefully, most if not all Arizonans will do the right thing.