Meade School Board approves back-to-school plan | Local News

“Last year, because we didn’t know for sure what was going to happen with the Rally, we started at Orange (category) with masks required. We are not recommending that at this point in time,” Kirkegaard said.

He said district officials are hoping that both students and faculty are healthy and therefore not requiring mask wearing to start the year.

The big difference in this year’s plan is that there are four levels or categories rather than three. Those four levels are green, white, orange and red.

Green is the first level. That means school is in a normal mode. In that level, masks are totally optional. They are not recommended and they are not required, Kirkegaard said.

In the green level there is little or no virus activity in a building — less than 1% of students and staff in a building are impacted.

White is the next level. In the white level, there are isolated cases in a school building — from 1% to 3% of students and staff are impacted. Masks are recommended but not required, and precautions are in place.

The third level is orange. In the orange level, there are active cases in a school building — from 3% to less than 5% of students and staff are impacted. Masks are required when social distancing is not an option.

The fourth or top level is red. In the red level, there are substantial cases in a school building — 5% or greater of students and staff are impacted. If the district experienced such an occurrence, there would be a special board meeting called to consider educational delivery options which could include blended learning as well as virtual learning.

In addition to active COVID-19 case numbers both in the building and in the county, the district will consider other factors including numbers of students and staff needing to be quarantined, the number of COVID-19 cases in a class or grade level and the ability to hold classes based on the number of teachers out of the building, Kirkegaard said.

Most of the school year last year the district operated in the green category, but that changed in late fall, Kirkegaard said.

“During the last school year about Thanksgiving time, it was pretty hairy,” he said. “We had quite a few kids out. We didn’t know for sure where we would end up, but Thanksgiving really was the peak.”

Kirkegaard said that after Thanksgiving, the number of COVID cases dropped. It fell again going into Christmas break and following the break.

All told, the Meade School District had about 280 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the 2020-21 school year. Kirkegaard estimated that 200 of the cases were during the first semester and 80 were in the second semester.

Even though the Meade School District and many others in South Dakota returned to in-person learning last year, other school districts around the country did not. The U.S. Department of Education is now requiring all school district to provide a safe return to in-person learning plan to be eligible for federal COVID funding.

The Meade School Board unanimously approved the plan Monday, but will review it again in December.

The percentages for moving from level to level will be used in school buildings with 150 or more students. The decision to move from phase to phase in a building with less than 150 students will be made based on the unique circumstances in the individual building, the superintendent said. That means the requirements do not apply to the rural schools in the Meade School District.

To read all of today’s stories, Click here or call 642-2761 to subscribe to our e-edition or home delivery.