Irle to Continue Distance Learning

Glasgow Public Schools extended distance learning for elementary-aged school children this week pushing back a hopeful date of resuming in-person instruction from Oct. 19 to Oct. 26. The announcement was made in a letter to staff from Superintendent Wade Sundby. The Glasgow middle and high schools are continuing their in-person classes.

In the letter Sundby wrote that after conversations with the Valley County Health Department about the stress the uptick in cases has put on department staff, he decided to delay resuming classes for another week.

Sundby wrote, “We will be closing the doors and moving to our remote learning platform for another week at the Irle School grades K-5 only, due to the increase in COVID positive students and staff as well as quarantine. We will continue remote learning on Monday October 19, 2020. A possible date to return will be Monday October 26, 2020 this will be dependent upon the COVID positive/negative test results returning to the Valley County Health Department.”

The plan will change little from the previous two weeks of distance education. Students will still utilize Google Classroom, email and Google Meets platforms to communicate and receive instruction from teachers. Workbooks and homework are being sent home and communication between parents and teachers is being encouraged.

Teachers, paraprofessionals and staff however, arrived at work on Monday Oct. 19, unless otherwise sick or quarantined, to teach from their classrooms.

“The Glasgow School District does understand the strain that this puts on families during this time,” wrote Sundby. “We are working diligently to make sure our staff, students and community are safe. We continually evaluate the situation to make the best possible decision we can during this time. We are running into a situation where our teachers and paraprofessionals are becoming limited because of exposure to COVID. We are unable to fully staff our school for in class instruction.”

Valley County is experiencing a continuing upward trend of COVID-19 positive cases that has led to four deaths, an increase in hospitalizations and the virus to enter the nursing home. The spike in cases has led to an overwhelming number of contact trace calls and tests required to track, isolate and mitigate the disease.