South Callaway moves to distance learning until Nov. 2

South Callaway R-2 School District will move to distance learning for a week.
South Callaway R-2 School District will move to distance learning for a week.

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MOKANE, Mo. - All schools in the South Callaway R-2 School District will move to distance learning today.

Students will not return to in-person classes until Nov. 2.

Today was already scheduled as a half-day, with virtual parent-teacher conferences planned. Because Friday was already scheduled as a day off, students will only be home for five and a half educational days.

Students will learn online through programs such as Class Dojo and Schoology. Students should receive specific instructions from teachers.

No activities will be held until school resumes in-person.

In a letter sent to parents Wednesday, Superintendent Kevin Hillman cited an increase in positive COVID-19 cases among staff members, as well as the quarantine status of their colleagues, as the reason for the move to distance learning.

This move includes a jump from the district's Plan A, in-person learning, straight to Plan D, distance learning.

Plan B, which includes in-person classes with masks, and Plan C, which includes hybrid instruction with students alternating in-person and virtual attendance, were skipped. Plans B and C were envisioned for scenarios when student cases might be high.

But, with too many teachers at home, it makes more sense to move straight to Plan D, Hillman said.

"We did not plan on being on Plan D when I came in this morning," Hillman said.

The state has made case counts and ranges by school district available online at showmestrong.mo.gov/public-health-school-districts. According to the website, there were between one and 10 positive cases among school-aged residents of the South Callaway school district between March 1 and Oct. 15. But that does not include any adult cases and numbers might have changed over the past week.

Hillman said Wednesday the district became aware of several staff members who felt sick or received positive tests. The new cases are not isolated to any one building in the district. Hillman did not provide a specific number.

"We were trending in the wrong way in a hurry," Hillman said.

According to the Callaway County Health Department, there have been 1,046 total cases in the county since the pandemic began. As of Tuesday, there were 199 active cases. Eight Callaway County residents have died, and 839 have recovered.

Many more have been asked to quarantine due to potential exposure to the virus after close contact with a positive case.

Hillman said the school district is better prepared to move to distance learning than it was last spring. Not only are students and teachers more familiar with virtual learning, high-speed internet options in the area have increased and students of all ages have been sent home with iPads.

"Our teachers already have some things prepared and sent home," Hillman said.

One major difference: In the spring schools mostly moved to review materials, while this time around, teachers will continue teaching new material.

Another difference is there is an end in sight - though the district will continue to re-evaluate the situation, it expects students to be back in the classroom after only a week of learning from home.

"There aren't many silver linings," Hillman said. "But this is short term."

Hillman said the district will use this opportunity to see how prepared it is and whether any distance learning plans needed to be tweaked.

"We feel like we're much more prepared," Hillman said.

Elsewhere in Callaway County, New Bloomfield R-3 School District decided to send its middle and high school students home Friday.

In a letter to New Bloomfield parents, Superintendent Sarah Wisdom said the district did not have enough substitutes to keep older students in the building.

New Bloomfield R-3 plans to return to in-person learning for all ages Oct. 27.