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NORTH LOGAN — On the same day that Alpine School District put on hold a decision to shorten its school day by one hour, Cache County School District made a similar decision, that, for now, is still standing.
Cache County School District on Wednesday night announced that it would be adjusting its school schedule, releasing preschool through high school students 45 minutes earlier than their typical schedule, beginning on Jan. 31.
"The students go home and the teachers then have more time to provide support to those students who may have not been at school," said Tim Smith, public information officer for the district.
The move to an early-out schedule comes as schools throughout the district are experiencing an uptick in cases of COVID-19, cold, flu and RSV, which have resulted in "unprecedented" student and staff absenteeism.
The district has seen daily student absentee rates between 9% to 17% in elementary schools and between 19% to 31% in middle and high schools, according to the announcement on the district's website.
"Our absenteeism right now is unprecedented as far as the school district and that's really why we felt we needed to have a response to that — to help support teachers and students in our district," Smith said.
Smith said that the district hasn't yet determined how long the early-out schedule will remain in place, but they will "evaluate that as we go."
"Our priority is to keep our schools open as we know that students learn better in person than online. Another priority is to ensure that our teachers have adequate time to prepare and to help students who are absent to catch up on their school work. This additional time for teachers will help us to accomplish both of these priorities," the announcement said.
Under the amended schedule, K-8 afterschool programs will begin 45 minutes early and end at the same time they have all year. Extracurricular activity times will be adjusted as needed and information will be provided through advisors and coaches, according to the announcement.
"We're running about 20% absenteeism (among teachers). We hope this will give them (teachers) time to provide that support to students," Smith said.
