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According to South Washington County data from March 25, all schools have moved fully into in-person learning. 16 elementary schools, four middle schools and four high schools are listed on the dashboard. Grades 6-12 are only going four days a week.

At the beginning of the calendar year, Washington County’s case rates, which is the number of cases per 10,000 over a 14-day period, were 68.37. as of March 25, that number had dropped to 15.91. The accompanying graph does state that the in person learning for all students requires the case rates to be under nine. So how did in-person learning happen for everyone if the rate is at 15? The state revised guidelines to allow in-person with additional safety protocols in place.

As of March 25, 424 students and 24 staff members were currently in quarantine due to close contact or testing positive for COVID. 506 students and 163 staff have tested positive for COVID since the beginning of the year in the district. The enrollment plan for 2021 had projected 19,624 total enrollments for the district. With that enrollment number, approximately 2.6% of the total student body district wide has tested positive.

The district examines multiple factors to determine if the learning model should change. Staff and student absence rates, staffing availability, success of the current learning model, planning challenges and infection rates for the county.