Monroe County Middle School to Move to Virtual Learning Starting September 28

Due to the number of students and staff being affected by Covid-19 diagnoses and exposure, Monroe County Middle School will move from face-to-face to all virtual instruction starting Monday, September 28.  The virtual learning will continue for ten school days through Friday, October 9, with in-person classes resuming on Monday, October 19 following Fall Break.

The action to make the change was taken by the Board of Education during an emergency called board meeting held Thursday afternoon, September 24.

At the current time, face-to-face classes will continue at Mary Persons High School, all three elementary schools, and at the Monroe Academy Achievement Center. Additionally, the Middle School ACCESS classes, Flexible Learning Program classes, and C-Team athletics will continue as scheduled.

According to Superintendent Dr. Mike Hickman, incidents of students having positive diagnoses, experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, or being exposed to someone with the virus have grown quickly at Monroe County Middle School during the past week.  In addition, the same has occurred with staff members, creating classroom supervision issues at the Middle School level.

At the end of the day on September 24, 86 students and staff members were under quarantine, with seven students and one teacher testing positive.  Others are awaiting test results.

Before making the recommendation to the Board to move to virtual instruction, school officials have talked at length with epidemiologists with the North Central Health District of the Department of Public Health to evaluate the situation.  School officials have continued to follow the guidance of local and regional health officials as it has dealt with individual cases, classroom populations, and athletic teams.

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