SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 29, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City School District will continue remote learning through the end of the first quarter, which ends on November 9, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.
In a letter addressed to families in the district, Interim Superintendent Larry Madden explained that the Board of Education established specific metrics, based on data from the Salt Lake County Health Department and other public health experts to determine when it would be safe to return to in-person learning.
The metrics the Board selected are:
- a COVID-19 positive test rate in Salt Lake County below 5% for seven consecutive days
- a COVID-19 positive case count of fewer than 10 per 100,000 residents of Salt Lake County
“On July 30, the Board of Education used these metrics when they voted to begin the school year in remote learning for the first quarter of the year. They also committed to revisiting Salt Lake City’s COVID-19 status at midterm and at the end of each quarter to determine if it was safe to return to in-person learning,” the letter said.
According to the letter, over the last seven days, Salt Lake County has had:
- a COVID-19 positive test rate of 11.61%, from September 20-27, 2020
- a COVID-19 positive case count of 32.1 per 100,000 residents of Salt Lake County, as of September 28, 2020.
Therefore, as the first midterm checkpoint nears, Salt Lake City hasn’t met the required metrics to return to in-person learning.
The Board of Education will discuss plans for the second quarter at upcoming board meetings on October 6, October 20, and November 3, the letter states.
“On October 6, I will provide a report to the Board regarding the meeting last week with district leadership and the Salt Lake County Health Department,” Madden said. “District leaders, in coordination with the Salt Lake County Health Department, continue to work on plans for a safe return to in-person learning.
“As the COVID-19 situation improves, our first planning focus will be on returning younger grades to in-person learning in phases and expanding flexibility for small group instruction for classes that require in-person skill development.”
Families will receive a survey on Wednesday, asking for feedback about their remote learning experience during the first weeks of school.
The survey will come from Dr. Michelle Amiot, director of Assessment and Evaluation ([email protected]), the letter says.
Parents will receive a separate email for each child attending school the Salt Lake City School District, and parents may respond through Monday, Oct. 5.
“Please note, there is an independent group called Parent Voices that has been circulating their own survey to our school district community,” the letter says.” This survey is not affiliated with the Salt Lake City School District.”
Parents can tune in to the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m. on the district’s YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/slcschools.
To read the letter in its entirety, click here.
