School moves to distance

by Tom Coombe
Starting Monday, classrooms in the Ely schools will be noticeably empty.
Students will learn from home, for at least four weeks, as part of a change finalized by district officials and formally rolled out late Monday.
After a sizeable increase in COVID-19 case numbers in the northern half of St. Louis County and in Ely, the district will switch to a distance learning model this week, with an anticipated date of return slated for Jan. 11.
Tuesday was the final day of in-person learning at Washington Elementary while middle and high school students will transition out of a hybrid model that had been in place since mid-September.
After time for teacher preparation, distance learning starts Wednesday for grades 6-12 and Thursday in the elementary school.
Ely will join numerous other districts regionally, and across the state, in moving to a distance learning model, and superintendent Erik Erie said Monday, during a school board study session, that the district’s plan was endorsed earlier in the day during a consultation with state public health and education officials.
“We know that many of our parents and most of us would like to see our students here in person,” said Erie. “We know that’s how students learn best, and how teachers teach best.”
Ely maintained its learning models for several weeks in the wake of rising county case numbers, in part because of advice from public health representatives. Current biweekly Northern St. Louis County case numbers are roughly 60 per 10,000 people, above the 50 per 10,000 threshold to consider a move to distance learning.
Ely’s change comes after what some school officials called a “staggering” increase in local cases, including 31 new cases among residents in the 55731 zip code in a seven-day period that ended Nov. 19.
Overall, cumulative cases in Ely nearly doubled in three weeks, according to data on St. Louis County’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Erie told board members that the move to distance learning also came after consultation with area physicians, and amid additional strain on local health care facilities because of the virus.
“The message we got is that we’re seeing some significant changes in our health care facilities with COVID-related cases,” said Erie.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise in Ely, the school community has been affected as well.
Just over 60 students were out of school on quarantine as of Nov. 19, and four more active cases in the school were reported last week.
The number of active cases among school community members is now back down to zero, according to a post on the district’s Facebook page on Tuesday. Since the start of the school year, there have been 11 cases within the school.
In both the elementary and secondary schools, preparation was underway this week for the transition, which is set to extend through December, go through the holiday break, and include another week of distance learning from Jan. 4-8.
“Our goal for everybody is to get kids back in school as fast as we can,” said high school principal Megan Anderson.
Anderson added that she addressed the student body and that “the message I’ve given to kids is the better we do as a whole group, the better we’ll do to get back in our classrooms.”
All school activities, including athletics, are on hold at least through Dec. 18 as part of a “pause” announced earlier by Gov. Tim Walz.
During the distance learning period, the school district will offer free lunch daily for all students by pickup, or cold lunch via delivery. Child care will also be available to children of “Tier 1” workers, with service only available to those who qualify.
During distance learning the district will also continue with its early-release Wednesdays, with instruction halted at noon each Wednesday to allow teachers additional preparation time.
Technology devices will be made available to students who need them, but new Chromebooks ordered in preparation for distance learning have not yet arrived.
Erie met with members of the district’s Safe Learning Plan Advisory Committee Tuesday, and the group will continue to look at data during the distance learning period.
According to communication with district parents, the district will rely on county, school and local case rate data, along with consultations with the Minnesota Department of Health, to consider a return to school.
The message states “we are hoping to return to a hybrid or in-person learning model on Monday, Jan. 11.”
The transition to distance learning did not require a school board vote, following board action in August that gave Erie the authority to change models.
Administrators and board members both voiced hope that in-person learning would return, and board chair Ray Marsnik cited results of a survey - conducted by a parent representative of the safe learning advisory group - that showed overwhelming support for in-person learning.
The results, shared at an earlier advisory group meeting, showed that 86 percent of elementary parents preferred in-person learning, eight percent supporting hybrid, and five percent for distance.
The high school numbers showed 64 percent support for in-person, 29 percent for hybrid and seven percent for distance.
Erie said that faculty preferences have shifted in the last two weeks, pointing to a survey of faculty showing that a majority of local teachers are no longer comfortable with in-person learning.