By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — A shift to virtual learning for students and staff the week of Thanksgiving was supported by the Dearborn Heights District 7 Board of Education following a recommendation from Interim Supt. Mary Ann Cyr.
The district will be online during the two-and-a-half days prior to Thanksgiving break from Nov. 22 to 24 following an increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the district.
During a Nov. 17 board meeting, Cyr said there have been 101 positive cases year to date and noted a spike in positive cases since Homecoming festivities.
She said as of that day there were 164 students either positive, in quarantine or isolation across all schools with 19 positive cases being the catalyst for the 164 students.
Cyr said there has been more than one outbreak in the schools which means there were at least three COVID-19 cases that are connected. She said an administrative meeting was called the afternoon before the board meeting to brainstorm possibilities for the district.
In a Nov. 18 letter to parents, Cyr said students will be learning virtually in a synchronous manner, so devices should be turned on and students engaged with the teacher.
“It is important that all students attend classes with their devices on, virtually, bell to bell, so that we hit our daily attendance rates,” Cyr said in the letter. “If we don’t hit the attendance rates, we run the risk of adding days to our calendar at the end of June.”
All students were provided with a device to take home for virtual learning.
While staff and students remain at home, the district’s custodial staff will deep clean and sanitize buildings over three days. Cyr said it is easier for staff to clean the buildings while they are empty.
“This will also serve as a building-wide quarantine from each other since we would be separated from each other for nine days,” Cyr said at the meeting. “Returning on Monday, November 29th, would allow us to be back together in buildings with a clean slate. With this approach, any staff or student COVID contact in the next week would occur from outside of the D7 walls.”
Before bringing the recommendation to the board, Cyr said she had conversations with Wayne RESA and Wayne County Health Department about her concerns with the data.
According to the COVID-19 data on the state’s website, there was an average of 7,281 new confirmed cases over two days, Nov. 16 and 17.
During virtual learning, the district will distribute three breakfast and lunch meals to families at O.W. Best Middle and Bedford Elementary schools from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 22.
A drive-through site using the alley behind the school is planned at Best and a walkup site using the front door of the building will be set up at Bedford.
For more information go to www.district7.net.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)