A surge in positive COVID-19 has forced the Fayette school district to transition to online learning starting Tuesday. The move will last through the end of November.

The decision for Daly Elementary to go online was announced Sunday in an email to parents. On Monday afternoon, the district announced that Clark Middle School and Fayette High School would also move to remote learning. The district hopes to resume in-person classes on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Until this point, the district has been committed to in-person learning, despite teacher and substitute shortages due to quarantine procedures. However, in an email, District Superintendent Jill Wiseman explained that last week an elementary school staff member tested positive for COVID-19. At least two DES students also tested positive during the weekend. “This has caused a significant impact on the number of staff and students required to quarantine due to close contact. It is simply not now possible to meet the needs of the students with onsite learning,” wrote Mrs. Wiseman.

“We recognize the extra burden this shift will create for some families, however, we feel it is necessary to reduce the potential of spread within the school environment and to reduce the risk of exposure to our staff, students, and their families.”

The entire district is now at Red level, which means that all learning will be done remotely. Remote learning begins on Wednesday. School is not in session on Mondays. On Tuesday from 1 to 6 p.m. parents of elementary students may pick up items for remote learning via a drive-through. Both middle and high schools will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for parents or students to pick up any materials left on campus. 

Daily assignments and instructional videos will be posted on Google Classroom starting Wednesday, Nov. 18, for students in grades six through 12. The district will hold online classes for middle school students from 11:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and for high school students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The staggered schedule was developed to help families manage class streaming for families who have students in multiple grades. Other lessons will be recorded and can be accessed throughout the school day.

The district’s Board of Education in a special meeting August 3 voted to purchase 375 Chromebooks in case the district would need to transition to online learning. They were expected to be delivered in October, but so far have not arrived.

As was done during school lockdowns in the spring, Fayette will once again provide meals for all students. Distributions dates will be Wednesday, Nov. 18 and Monday, Nov. 23. Food pick up times are noon to 12:30 p.m. in the front parking lot at Daly Elementary and the Armstrong Community Center, and 11 to 11:30 a.m. at the back parking lot of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayette.

Classes in Fayette have remained in-person since the start of the fall semester on Aug. 25 and athletes were able to successfully complete full football and softball seasons. The district had maintained that it would keep schools open as long as attendance did not drop below 80%. As of Wednesday, Nov. 11, district attendance sat at 83.4% with eight staff members and 51 students in quarantine. Mrs. Wiseman explained that the district has “seen an increase in community spread,” and those in quarantine were likely exposed outside of school, mostly by family.

A new quarantine procedure rolled out last week by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson seems to provide an incentive for districts to adopt mask-wearing policies. (See “Governor Parson Announces Changes in State’s K-12 School Quarantine Guidance” on page 2 of this newspaper.) According to Gov. Parson “proper mask-wearing” may now prevent individuals from being identified as close contacts in K-12 schools that have implemented a mask mandate. This means that if both individuals at school – the person diagnosed with COVID-19, and the person exposed to the positive case – have on masks and are wearing them correctly, the individual exposed does not need to quarantine.

“We believe this change will lead to more schools encouraging proper mask usage, helping to further protect students and educators from the spread of the virus,” Gov. Parson said.

The new rules would allow for more students and teachers to remain in the classroom even in the event of a positive case as long as all involved were wearing masks and do not show symptoms.

Supt. Wiseman explained that while all teachers and staff in the district are required to wear masks, students are not. She said that she has observed decreased mask-wearing by students since the start of the school year. The school board is expected to take up the matter at its next meeting on Nov. 18.

Last week the district moved from Green Level to yellow due to the recent surge in quarantined staff and students. A letter to parents on Friday from Supt. Wiseman and school nurse Kelly Beeler said the amount of staff on quarantine has increased from 3.2% the week before to 10.8%. “We are closely monitoring this situation with our local public health department as we also monitor community spread,” the letter stated.

When schools open back up Dec. 1 they will remain at Yellow Level, which involves the implementation of increased mitigation measures throughout the district. “Please continue to be vigilant for signs and symptoms of COVID and keep students home and contact your medical provider for guidance if they are exhibiting any symptoms. We appreciate your communication with us as we work to make the best decisions possible for the safety of our students and staff,” said Supt. Wiseman.

Like all districts, Fayette is dealing with a shortage of substitute teachers, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. “We did get a surge this week of staff in quarantine, which definitely made the sub shortage more evident,” Mrs. Wiseman said. 

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education implemented a program in the early fall that widened potential applicants’ population and implemented changes to allow for quicker training. The department also eased the financial burden to become a substitute teacher, but that ended Nov. 4. The Fayette Board of Education, however, in its October meeting, gave unanimous approval for a plan to reimburse new substitute teachers for training fees.

To qualify as a substitute teacher, an interested person who has not already earned 60 hours of college creditmust enroll in a 20-hour training course. The cost to do so is $175. There is also an application fee of $50. Under the district’s new plan, any new substitute teacher who works at least 10 days in the classroom will qualify for the reimbursement in the amount of $225.

In September, the board voted to increase pay for substitute teachers from $70 to $75 per day. It also increased the long-term rate paid to substitute teachers to $105 per day. The increase is expected to cost the district an additional $3,000 to $4,000 a year.

Fayette is not the only school district in Howard County to shut down in-person learning due to large numbers of teachers and students on quarantine. New Franklin public schools reopened this week after two weeks of remote learning. The school board there also gave recent approval to increase pay for substitute teachers.