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PLEASANT GROVE — A Utah County high school will temporarily hold students out of the classroom, then shift to a hybrid, alternate-day learning model of face-to-face instruction after the state's largest school district reported 67 active cases of the novel coronavirus after just over a week of in-person classes.
Alpine School District officials say 41 students and 26 employees from the 91 schools and six general district office facilities have tested positive for the disease. Due to a "high-impact area" identified at Pleasant Grove High School, however, the school will begin operating under a "medium-level" hybrid model of alternating classes beginning Thursday, district spokesperson Kimberly Bird confirmed to KSL.
No students will report to class Tuesday or Wednesday while the district meets with teachers to help prepare for and review the hybrid schedule, Bird added.
Pleasant Grove was designated a high-impact city by the district, the city, and the Utah County health department. It will begin the hybrid instructional model Thursday, moving the Vikings from an all in-class setting to a medium-level alternating schedule based on last names.
The district declined to say how many cases have been confirmed at Pleasant Grove High School. But under state guidelines approved by the Utah State School Board and Gov. Gary Herbert's office, a total active case count of 15 students — or 10% of the student body, whichever is lower — would automatically shift classes online for at least two weeks.
Under the hybrid model, which the district says will begin Thursday, students with last names A-K will attend “A-day” classes on Thursday and “B-day” classes on Friday, with students last-named L-Z on an alternating schedule, according to a news release from Alpine School District. Online learning will be used to supplement face-to-face interactions.
After Labor Day, L-Z students will start A-day on Tuesday, B-day on Wednesday in a face-to-face model.
“Alpine School District’s goal and priority is to stop or slow the spread,” Bird told KSL.
The shift will not impact extracurricular activities sponsored by the Utah High School Activities Association, which requires the use of face coverings, social distancing when possible, and limited spectator participation at all sporting events, among other return-to-play guidelines and protocols.
The Vikings are scheduled to host Wasatch in a non-region football game Friday night at 7 p.m. That game had not been moved, postponed or canceled, as of Monday afternoon. Girls soccer will host Westlake on Tuesday in a Region 4 matchup, while volleyball will play at Mountain View.
Volleyball is also scheduled to host Copper Hills on Thursday.
Under rules established by Alpine School District and approved by the UHSAA, schools should also stop or postpone games or matches where spectators are not following appropriate social distancing or mask-wearing guidelines. American Fork athletic director Jeremy Lewis made national headlines when he temporarily halted the Cavemen's televised Thursday night game against Timpview due to a lack of protocols being followed.
American Fork had at least one confirmed positive case of COVID-19 over the summer, one that shut down workouts and quarantined members of the defending 6A state champion girls soccer team.
The Utah Department of Health will set up a free COVID-19 mobile testing center at the Pleasant Grove City outdoor pool parking lot Wednesday and Thursday. Testing will be available Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is requested.
The district says 76,000 of the district’s 81,493 students are attending face-to-face classes, with more than 8,400 employees.
The shift at Pleasant Grove comes as high schools and colleges across the state have begun returning to class, both in-person and online. Utah State quarantined 287 students living in four on-campus dormitories Sunday after elevated levels of COVID-19 were found in wastewater samples from the halls.
The students were tested Sunday and Monday, and must be quarantined until the tests come back.
Closer to Utah County, BYU opened the fall semester Monday, while nearby Utah Valley in Orem has had students in a combination of in-person and online classes for close to a week.
Utah Military Academy, a charter school with two locations on the Wasatch Front, temporarily shut down its campus in Lehi after nine of its nearly 50 staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The campus will modify its schedule through Friday, Sept. 18 to teaching all cadets via online learning software Canvas, according to a letter to faculty and staff obtained by KSL. The school had been open for nearly three weeks, with COVID-19 protection protocols in place such as wearing masks, social distancing when possible, and high rates of cleaning and sanitization.
Also Monday, American Prep, a charter school in Draper, confirmed to KSL that 12 students have confirmed positive over a rolling two-week period.
School officials do not plan on closing classes, because some students will be off-track soon.
Contributing: Alexis Pineiro, KSL; Dave McCann, KSL TV
