School leaders discuss COVID-19 concerns with governor, plan for winter

More than 800 school leaders from around the state joined a call with the governor to discuss all things COVID-19.

"That conversation with them was to talk with them about ways we can continue to be flexible, where are we falling through the gaps and then I think to prepare them for this," Gov. Tim Walz said.

Walz: ‘Testing strategy is key,’ more than a dozen new COVID-19 testing sites statewide announced

School leaders say more testing sites will be valuable in helping districts make learning decisions.

"It could provide us with data that is really specific and time-sensitive and let superintendents and school boards know what kind of decision they should make around the learning model," said Deb Henton, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.

Henton says it could also help keep local decision-making power with school districts, avoiding a state-wide remote learning decision like we saw last spring.

"Depending on where you are, the case numbers may have leveled off or may have decreased, whereas in other places they are going up in a very concerning way, so the ability to have local control and flexibility is much appreciated by the members of our organization," she said.

In ISD 728, which serves Elk River and surrounding communities, the superintendent says the numbers are making school difficult.

"Between Oct. 26 and Nov. 4, we had more than 1515 students and 97 staff members either test positive or be in quarantine because of COVID-19," Superintendent Dan Bittman said.

He says not even half of the teaching positions and only a third of the absent support staff could be covered by substitutes.

"The bottom line is we don’t have individuals to drive our kids to school or to supervise classrooms or to teach, and when that happens regardless of the number of positive cases, we’re just unable to do the business of educating children," Bittman added.

After launching in-person tutoring to students last month, Minneapolis Public Schools is putting the instruction on hold due to an increase in COVID-19 numbers.

Minneapolis Public Schools pauses after-school supports

"While we were pleased to offer the supports, the recent significant rise in COVID-19 requires a need to pause supports and essentially move our dial back," Minneapolis Schools Superintendent Ed Graff said.

In ISD 728, the learning model will change next week, secondary students will move to a distance model, elementary students will go hybrid, but they’re likely not alone.

"There’s no reason to believe that the numbers will slow down anytime before the end of January, this is why we have announced for right now, the middle and high schoolers will remain in a distance learning model through the end of January which happens to be the end of our first semester," Bittman said.

"I would think that would be the case at the majority of districts across the state," he added.