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WASHINGTON TERRACE, Weber County — The Weber School District announced Wednesday that Bonneville High School will move to remote instruction for two weeks because of an outbreak of the new coronavirus, while a vote in the Provo School District will send kids back into classrooms in November.
And in the Canyons School District, Alta High is moving to a split schedule with online and in-person instruction.
The Bonneville High closure will begin Thursday, Oct. 29, and students are slated to return to the classroom on Thursday, Nov. 12.
In a statement, the district said that 15 or more individuals have tested positive over the last two weeks, and "multiple classrooms" were affected. This meet's the state's criteria for an "outbreak."
Currently, the Weber School District says 70 students have active coronavirus cases and that 951 students are in quarantine.
The building will be disinfected and sanitized while students are away, the district said. "The move to online instruction does not mean the entire school is under quarantine," officials wrote. "Only individuals who have been directly exposed to someone with COVID-19 are required to quarantine at home."
Furthermore, the district says Bonneville's football and volleyball teams will be allowed to continue playing, and other extracurriculars may proceed on a case-by-case basis because there are no COVID-19 cases associated with them.
The Bonneville closure comes one day after Granite School District's Olympus and Taylorsville high schools announced they were going remote after exceeding the 15-case limit, as well.
While some schools are transitioning to remote learning, others are moving back to in-person classes. The Provo City School District board voted on Tuesday to move its middle schools and high schools back to in-person learning four days per week in November.
Board member Julie Rush acknowledged how difficult the decision to return to in-person classes was.
"So far we have been kinda sacrificing education in favor of safety. I don't regret that. I think we've made the right move up to this point," Rush said. "But I do think, both as a parent and as a board member, our students need to be with their teachers more."
Corner Canyon, Alta and Brighton resumed in-person classes on Oct. 19, following a period of online learning after an increase in COVID-19 cases. Canyons School District announced Wednesday evening that "in an effort to keep students on campus for in-person learning and immediate access to social-emotional supports amid a rise in COVID-19 cases associated with Alta High, a temporary split schedule will be put into effect at the school on Monday, Nov. 2."
While Canyon School District reported cases hovering near 1% of the school population, it stated that the upward trend of transmission rates in Sandy weighed in its decision to reinstitute the split schedule. According to Canyons School District, the split schedule will allow students to remain in school while decreasing the number of students in the building.
Contributing:Kelli Pierce, KSL NewsRadio
