Yuma District One addresses spring semester plan
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - With surging COVID-19 cases and a vaccine touching down in Arizona, a plan for returning to school is no longer up in the air.
Yuma School District One (YSDO) attempts to address concerns for the Spring 2021 semester.
Monday the governing board of YSDO voted in favor of a remote learning style education with on-site support. They are making the calls now to give parents and teachers a heads up when returning in January.
Superintendent James Sheldahl doesn't think much will change in the next three weeks.
"I think it would be overly optimistic to think over the next few weeks they're going to trend downward significantly in order to start in a hybrid model," Sheldahl stated.
Superintendent Sheldahl decides when the students are able to return to the hybrid learning model based on three indicators.
"One thing we learned is that third indicator, COVID-like illness at the hospital is maybe not as valid of measure as the other two," Sheldahl said.
The other two are Yuma County's positivity rate and the number of cases per 100,000 people.
But, the third indicator is not just Yuma County.
"Yuma County is included along with La Paz and Mojave Counties, so it's not a true county level data point," Sheldahl explained. "It's actually a regional data point."
The governing board agreed, including member Irene Montoya, which means the decision is now only determined by the first two numbers.
"We want to keep everybody safe. It's so affirming to know that we're not just, you know, we're looking at data. We're looking at science," Montoya stated. "Not just our own opinions."
In the fall semester, the district gave parents just over a week heads up to switch to hybrid learning. The superintendent says this time around, teachers and parents might be able to make the adjustment quicker.
