As cases climb, schools shift toward hybrid learning

With positive Covid-19 cases trending upward in Carlton County, some schools are taking a second look at the idea of all students attending school in person this fall.

In Carlton, according to superintendent John Engstrom, school will still open the first week (Sept. 8-11) in person, but students in grades 7-12 will transition to a hybrid model — with students doing both distance and in-person learning — starting Monday, Sept. 14 through at least Oct. 2. As of last Thursday, the rate in Carlton County was 9.85 per 10,000.

“Given the case count movement upward the last two weeks, we believed we could make the call now,” Engstrom told the Pine Knot on Monday, Aug. 31, adding that he consulted with Carlton County health officials and area districts. “We felt like we needed to make the call while we had staff in this week to prepare, and to avoid trying to message parents on the Thursday before Labor Day.”

The increase in positive cases was also a topic of discussion at the special Cloquet school board meeting Monday, Aug. 31. Held for the purpose of approving a number of last-minute hires, superintendent Michael Cary told the board if case rates continued to climb, grades 7-12 would need to switch to hybrid learning.

The Minnesota Department of Health was set to release the newest numbers on Thursday, Sept. 3, and Cary said he wanted to see where those numbers fall before making any decisions, along with talking to school principals and others.

Cloquet will still open with full in-person learning even if the numbers cross the 10 cases per 10,000 mark, at which the state says the district has to change to hybrid learning for upper grades, he said. They want to give families plenty of lead time to prepare for the change. However, since the K-6 students would remain with in-person learning, families wouldn’t have to worry about child care in most cases.

“We could go the first three days, let the kids get their devices and meet their teachers and change the next Monday, or wait and make the shift after the following week,” Cary said.

Esko schools announced last week that they would be starting school in a hybrid model, with students alternating between at-home and in-school learning. Cromwell-Wright is starting school following the hybrid model, but they can fit all their students in the building and maintain the stricter social distancing requirements of the hybrid model.

Parents have the option of keeping students at home to learn throughout the school year, and many are. Cary expects close to 25-30 percent of students will opt to stay home, which will also help with social distancing measures at schools.

After this story went to print, the newest number to come out was below 9 for Carlton County. Cary said Cloquet will remain in-person for now.