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Virus changes how schools teach

By Adelle Whitefoot awhitefoot@duluthnews.com

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March. A few days later, schools across Minnesota quickly switched to online learning.

The change was hard for students, teachers, parents and everyone in education. Many schools weren’t prepared for the switch due to lack of internet access and/or devices for their students, so paper packets were used.

When Gov. Tim Walz placed a two-week pause on schools in March, many students thought they were going back to school, but educators knew that wasn’t going to be the case. The 2019-20 school year ended in distance learning and many senior traditions ended with it.

In-person graduations were being altered. Proms were canceled. Seniors who graduated in 2020 seemed to understand why school was closed and everything was canceled, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Over the summer, the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Department of Health worked on coming up with a plan to open schools safely in the fall. School districts each took that plan and made it their own.

School districts in Minnesota were asked to use a local 14-day case rate per 10,000 residents to help guide them on what model they are using, but if COVID-19 cases remain low in their schools, health officials are advising schools they can remain open, but to be aware of the community spread.

Minnesota Department of Health policy states that if the range of 14-day case rates per 10,000 people is zero to nine, in-person learning for all students can occur.

If case rates are 10-19 per 10,000 people,

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In September, with 14-day case rates in much of the area under 10, nearly every school district in the Northland opened for some sort of in-person learning. Rural schools where COVID-19 numbers were lower, opened to full in-person classes, where schools in and closer to Duluth started in hybrid learning. Proctor Public Schools and Duluth Public Schools took an even more cautious approach by starting secondary students in distance learning.

No matter the model, students all over Northeast Minnesota headed back to school for the first time in six months, but it didn’t last long.

As the fall continued, COVID-19 cases grew exponentially, and just over two months into the school year nearly every district in the Northland has switched to distance learning at all grade levels.

In the second week of November, every Carlton County school, except for Cromwell-Wright Public Schools, made an announcement they were switching to distance learning with the hopes of returning before Christmas break. The next week, St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties’ school districts followed suit.

Though some of the more rural schools planned a two- or three-week pause on in-person learning, many districts will remain distance learning until January. u

Fourth and fifth grade students from left: Nik Kaliszweski, Peter Ahrens and Jolissa Rosenlund sit in chairs spaced at least 6 feet apart while they read books they checked out during Lakewood Elementary’s first day of school Monday, Sept. 21. (Tyler Schank / tschank@duluthnews.com)

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