St. Cloud Area School Board Approves Hybrid Learning to begin 20-21 School Year

The Board of Education approved Wednesday night the district’s recommendation to begin the 20-21 school year in a hybrid learning model. The plan follows the Governor’s Stay Safe Minnesota matrix based on local county health data.

Details of the plan by level:

Pre-School

Ages 3 & 4: Learn in school two days a week, attending either on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday.

Elementary

Grades K-2: Learn in school four days a week, Monday-Thursday, while following social distancing and 50% capacity guidelines, and distance learning on Fridays. Grades 3-5: Learn in school two days a week, either on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday and three days in distance learning.

Secondary

Grades 6-12: Learn in school two days a week, either on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday and three days in distance learning.

Some students who receive special education or early multilingual learners, along with homeless and migrant students, may attend school Monday- Thursday and distance learn on Fridays.

Each Friday, the State releases local county health data, and we will share that data with families and staff weekly.

We know that COVID-19 case rates fluctuate, and local health data may at times require us to transition to either a more or less restrictive learning model. If the case rates rise to a point that requires us to be more restrictive (such as moving to K-12 distance learning), we will transition on the Monday following the data release.

If case rates decrease, we will monitor the health data to ensure rates either remain stable or decrease over the span of three weeks. We would then transition to a less restrictive model the following week.