District will consider return to classrooms in January

According to an email from Cloquet schools superintendent Michael Cary, the district is eying Jan. 4 for the Cloquet school district to begin to evaluate its ability to return elementary students to classrooms. This follows new recommendations from the state which allows and even encourages school districts to return elementary students (not secondary) to full in-person instruction, even when county case rates remain elevated, beginning on Jan. 18. If districts choose to return students to in-person or hybrid learning, the implementation must use a phased approach with no more than three grade levels returning to each building per two-week period. Many of the other previous restrictions remain in place, which may impact a district’s ability to bring students back to classrooms, Cary said.

“While we hope to be able to bring our students back to our buildings, there are many items that need to fall into place, some of which are out of our direct control,” he wrote, adding that school officials are deeply aware of “the importance of in-person education to student learning and to our families.” Thus they will plan carefully and communicate with families as early as possible once a decision has been made, he said.

“Please know we will not rush preparations at the expense of the safety of students, staff, or our community,” Cary wrote.