CAMDEN — Caesar Rodney School District students will move to remote learning for a week after Kent County reported significant community spread of COVID-19 Monday.
Remote learning will begin Wednesday and continue through Wednesday, Dec. 9, the district said in a news release.
“This decision was made only after significant discussion and debate, and with the safety and health of all district students and staff in mind,” Superintendent Kevin Fitzgerald said in a prepared statement. “It is our hope that by next week there will be more information available to allow the Board of Education to determine a more long-term plan for students and teachers. A further evaluation will be made by the Board of Education at that time.”
The decision follows similar ones made by Capital and Milford school districts Monday evening after the state released the update to the data on its COVID-19 data dashboard.
Capital suspended hybrid learning for all students until the new year, while Milford paused in-person classes Tuesday to evaluate its plan forward.
“It is understood that this pause in hybrid instruction is a disruption to families and students,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “Please understand that the CRSD is operating with the goal to keep the virus spread to an absolute minimum. We are, and will remain, connected to the Division of Public Health, the Department of Education and the Governor’s Office for guidance on how to operate.”
While school districts are making these decisions, Gov. John Carney said in a statement posted online last night it was still advised schools have hybrid instruction.
The state uses statewide data to make recommendations about school openings/closures, said Jen Brestel, a spokeswoman for the Division of Public Health. The districts’ decisions come as the criteria for school reopening moved to the “red” phase in Kent County, but the closure was not mandated by the state.
In a post to his Facebook page Monday night, Gov. Carney said that educators doing their part and following public health guidance is “why we’re not seeing spread of COVID-19 in schools — even as we continue to see increasing cases statewide,” noting that schools can — and are advised to — remain open to hybrid instruction.
“For the first time today, the county level data on the school reopening dashboard showed Kent County with two red indicators,” he wrote. “Guided by experts at the Delaware Division of Public Health, we continue to advise all districts and charter schools to follow the statewide school reopening gating criteria, which indicates hybrid learning.”
