Teton School District 401 students will stay in-person full time through at least January 12, 2021. That’s a day after the TSD 401 Board of Trustees reconvenes for its regular January meeting.
The school board reviewed current community transmission numbers at its meeting in Driggs Monday night. Eastern Idaho Public Health measures the spread of coronavirus by looking at the number of active cases per 10,000 population. While Teton County remains in the high-risk (orange) level, the rate per 10K residents has been moving downward for several days here. As of Monday night, the active case rate per 10K was 16.5.
In previous discussions, board members expressed their desire for consistency in educational delivery. To do so, they intend to keep students in the same learning model, and revisit the decision on a monthly basis. They have also committed to providing at least 24 hours notice to parents and staff after making a decision. Because of the two-week holiday break, that translates to a little more than two weeks of classroom time.
The board agreed that it would reconvene in a special session over the holiday if local conditions were to worsen dramatically but emphasized that the district’s safety protocols are helping make our public schools some of the safest places in the area. All students, staff, and visitors to school properties are expected to wear a mask, social distance whenever possible, frequently wash their hands, and most importantly, to stay home when sick. Teton is also enforcing Governor Brad Little’s Stage 2 restrictions regarding limiting spectators at sports activities.
“An after-Thanksgiving spike didn’t happen here. What we are doing is working,” was the board’s consensus. The meeting was broadcast on the district’s YouTube Channel.
