South Bend schools forced to limit which students return to 4 day in-person instruction
After announcing earlier this month that all students could return to in-person school four days per week for all grades beginning May 3, the South Bend School District has now been forced to change their plans.
In a release, the district says that preschool and K-6 students will be able to return 4 days per week, although a return for grades 7-12 is on hold.
Schools in South Bend will welcome back their youngest students on Monday.
“As noted previously, both A and B cohorts will be attending school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday will remain a remote learning day and school will continue to be dismissed at 2:20 pm. This change is allowed due to our new ability to reduce student distancing to 3 ft. All previous safety measure are still required.”
Due to the county-wide case rates of COVID-19 being above 200 per 100,000, rules by the the health department do not allow reduced distancing for grades 7-12.
This requires the district to delay the in-person return for their older students.
“…we simply do not have the space to bring back more students at this required distance. 7-12 students will continue the AA-W-BB hybrid model until further notice. We are watching the county data and will update students and families in the days and weeks to come. “
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your respective school building by calling 360-875-6041.