Hutchinson Public Schools are on a trajectory to start the year in a hybrid learning model based on the latest 14-day rate of COVID-19 cases in McLeod County.
“That is what I recommend we plan for,” Superintendent Daron VanderHeiden told the School Board Monday evening.
Based on data from July 12-25, the School Board set in-person learning as the base learning model for the 2020-21 school year, but knew it was possible for the model to change based on state mandates. At that time, McLeod County had 5.02 COVID-19 cases per 10,000 residents. For the week of July 19 to Aug. 1, that number rose to 14.52 cases. The most recent number from July 26 to Aug. 8 is 24.84 cases. McLeod County Public Health has also advised a hybrid model.
VanderHeiden has the ability to adjust the model with confirmation from the board chair. However, decisions must ultimately be approved by the state. Schools may request exceptions, but VanderHeiden said schools have been told that models less restrictive than state guidelines recommended won’t be approved, but more restrictive models may be.
In hybrid learning, half of the student population would attend school while the other half uses distance learning. The two groups would swap every other day. In Hutchinson, students are divided into Group A and Group B. Group A would attend school in person Mondays and Wednesdays, while Group B would attend in person Tuesday and Thursday. The two groups would trade off every other Friday.
Unofficial local data the school has been tracking suggests the county could spike up to 30 cases per 10,000 residents in a week, which would require schools to have secondary students practice complete distance learning, while elementary schools remain in hybrid learning. But as has been the case with many school decisions in the face of state mandates, only time will tell. The results of more than 700 recent COVID-19 tests conducted in Glencoe this past week were not available as of the meeting Monday evening.
Following the spike, VanderHeiden said, it seems cases may begin to slowly drop again.
“What we are seeing in Hutchinson is very reassuring,” said Board Member Brian Pollmann, chief medical officer at Hutchinson Health.
If cases begin to decline in the county, VanderHeiden said, the school likely won’t change to less restrictive models each week as the state allows it, but wait to make one change when the situation stabilizes.
During a hybrid learning model, students at home will still be required to be available for distance learning instruction that will be made available by each teacher. More information on the school’s learning models, and safety practices, can be found at isd423.org/school-closure-resources.
