UPDATE: The Eldon R-1, Cole County R-1, Russellville, and Cole County R-5, Eugene, school districts have announced they will be closing in response to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The Eldon R-1 School District will close to students beginning Friday, March 20. At this time, school officials plan to reopen on Monday, April 6. Further details are available at eldonmustangs.org.
Schools at Eugene will be closed starting Friday, March 20, until April 3. School officials say they will assess the situation weekly thereafter. More information is available at www.colerv.k12.mo.us.
Schools at Russellville will be closed starting Thursday, March 19, until at least April 3. More information is available at cole-mo.schoolloop.com/.
.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
While many local and surrounding districts are closing schools due to the novel coronavirus, a few have stayed open.
The Cole R-5 Eugene School District, Cole R-1 Russellville School District and Eldon School District have stayed open because health officials have not recommended school closures, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cole County and Miller County health departments.
Eldon Superintendent Matt Davis said he will consider closing schools if health officials recommend it. To prepare for a potential closure, the teachers are preparing online learning materials. For students who don't have internet at home, paper instruction packets will be available. Davis said all staff will still receive pay if there is a closure.
The district is also identifying staff who would need to be in the buildings and working on a plan to provide grab-and-go meals to students and address child care, Davis said. The plans are not yet finalized.
"We're watching what other school districts are doing and how they're providing, but we're in kind of new territory, and learning as we go through some of these processes of what we think is best for our kids and community," Davis said.
Russellville Superintendent Perry Gorrell said he did not close schools because the Cole County Health Department did not make a recommendation on school closures.
Gorrell said he will consider closing schools if attendance drops or if the health department recommends it. If the district does decide to close schools, students will be provided with at-home instruction, but plans are not yet finalized.
The Cole County R-5 Schools Facebook page says the district is not canceling school at this time because it is following CDC guidelines, and "many students rely on the positive environment, including secure food and encouraging adults, our school provides each day." It says the district is monitoring the situation and any changes will be communicated immediately to parents and district patrons.
The CDC guidelines state closing schools for only two weeks early in the spread of disease "will be unlikely to stem the spread of disease or prevent impact on the health care system, while causing significant disruption for families, schools, and those who may be responding to COVID-19 outbreaks in health care settings." It also says it may increase impact on older adults who care for grandchildren.
The guidelines say school closures may be useful if many students and staff are absent, or to clean buildings and try to trace networks of people who may have been infected.
The CDC said longer school closures of eight to 20 weeks may have some impact, but modeling shows other efforts, such as hand-washing and home isolation, "have more impact on both spread of disease and health care measures."
The CDC said the available evidence from other countries shows places that did close schools, such as Hong Kong, "have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not," such as Singapore.
Fifteen people in Missouri have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, with one in Cole County.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said it recommends the decision to close schools be made on the local level "where they best know the individual needs of their communities."
An update was posted to this page at 9:21 a.m. March 18, 2020.
.