Bella Barre gets instruction for an assignment on her laptop from facilitating teacher Amy Alexander at Sedona Charter School on Wednesday, Dec. 9.
David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers
Upon entering the lower elementary school at Sedona Charter School, one might not know that COVID-19 was even a concern. Besides the students’ tiny masks with prints ranging from hearts, moustaches, spider webs, rainbows, camouflage, ice cream cones and bear muzzles the 2,000-square-foot classroom looks pretty similar to the way it always has.
But the teachers know just how much the classroom and school have changed in the last 10 months.
In a normal year, the lower elementary school classroom for grades one, two and three has a 60-student capacity with four teachers. This year, there are 37 students enrolled the exact number of students that a general contractor determined would be able to fit in the classroom with six feet of spacing between them. Of the 37 students enrolled, 21 came b
Sedona Red Rock News
David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers
Verde Valley school districts are deciding whether or not to keep children in school or return to virtual learning at home due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the counties and state.
The Arizona Department of Health Services posts recommended guidelines on its website, indicating to school leaders whether it recommends in-person learning, in-classroom instruction or a hybrid, which some schools have interpreted to mean parents decide whether to send their kids to school or a half-on, half-off plan in which students alternate days when they are on campus.
The Mingus Union High School District Governing Board decided to close around Thanksgiving and the week after, then to continue the closure on Friday, Dec. 4.
The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board, administrators, community members and Yavapai County Health Services Director Leslie Horton, on screen, came together at the SPAC on Dec. 7 to discuss possibly returning to virtual-only schooling. Alexandra Wittenberg/Larson Newspapers
In a three-hour meeting on Monday, Dec. 7, the Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board voted unanimously to keep Sedona Red Rock High School and West Sedona School open for in-person learning during the nine remaining school days before winter break starts Saturday, Dec. 19.
But when school reconvenes on Monday, Jan. 4, classes will be virtual-only and stay that way for a few days after.