Multiple school districts in Oklahoma have decided to temporarily close this week for the purpose of cleaning and sanitizing, as there has been an increase in flu cases.
“We’ve been hit really hard by this cold and flu season. It’s been quite brutal here in Piedmont,” shared Riley Thomas, Communications Coordinator for Piedmont Schools.
Piedmont’s school district has recently revealed that one of its schools is currently facing the challenge of having eight teachers out sick.
“Eight teachers doesn’t feel like a lot, but if you multiply that by 23, you’re talking about 184 students who don’t have regular classroom teachers right now,” Thomas explained. “And that’s eight [substitutes] that we have to have and all those subs that were here last week are sick now.”
The district stated that it has been able to fill only half of the required substitute teachers.
“We don’t have enough subs to fill our classrooms when our teachers are sick. We don’t have enough bus drivers to drive all of our routes because they’re sick. So, we want all of our staff to know that we’re taking care of them too — by giving everybody a couple of days off,” Thomas stated.
Parents interviewed by News 9 expressed their approval of the break from school.
“The e-mail I got said the teachers and even the substitutes are coming down with it. So, clean up, give everybody a chance to feel better instead of spreading it and any more kids getting sick– I think it’s a good idea,” said Marquelle Edwards, a Piedmont High School parent.
The district has announced plans to clean its facilities on Thursday and Friday.
“They’re going to wipe everything down; make sure all of our Chromebooks are sanitized– that’s a big thing for our elementary schools,” Thomas continued.
Marietta Public Schools announced on their Facebook page that they will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for sanitization purposes.
The Deer Creek School District has announced that it will be transitioning to remote learning on January 30th and 31st. This decision is a result of staffing shortages caused by the ongoing flu outbreak.
Mustang Public Schools recently informed families through a letter that they will be implementing distance/remote learning on January 30 and 31. This decision was made in response to staff absences resulting from illness and the challenge of finding an adequate number of substitute teachers.
Gracemont Public Schools has recently made the decision to transition to virtual learning on January 30th and 31st due to illness. In a Facebook post, the school shared the following announcement:
“All classes will be held virtually on January 30th and 31st due to a high number of illnesses among students and staff. During this time, we will conduct a thorough deep cleaning and disinfecting of our facilities and buses.
JH games at home tomorrow night has been canceled .”
Northwest Classen made an announcement on Wednesday that they will be transitioning to distance learning. This decision comes as a result of a significant increase in illnesses among the student population. In a letter addressed to families, the school conveyed the following message:
“Due to a high number of staff members who are out sick, NW Classen High School will transition to distance learning tomorrow – Thursday, January 30 – while district teams thoroughly clean and disinfect the building.
All information for distance learning can be found here: https://www.okcps.org/distancelearning.”
