While we won’t know the numbers that will determine school reopening plans for the St. Michael-Albertville district until the end of next week, Wright County did get a reassuring sign Thursday evening. The state released updated case counts by county for the weeks of July 19-Aug. 1, and it showed Wright County’s case rate per 10,000 residents edging down slightly to 11.90. The previous 2-week case count, July 12-25, had Wright County at 12.88. Case counts per 10,000 residents have fallen twice in a row now, down from a high point of 13.18 in the first part of July.
According to state guidelines, county-level case numbers must fall below 10 cases per 10,000 residents in order for all students to be eligible for full-time, in-person school. STMA currently sits in the second tier for attendance, which runs from 10-19.9 cases per 10,000 residents. This tier allows elementary students to return to in-person learning full-time, and a hybrid schedule of in-person and distance learning for secondary students. Wright County hasn’t been below 10 cases per 10,000 residents since the period of 6/21-7/4.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday STMA schools emailed detailed information to families on each schools’ plans for the 2020-2021 school year, including what each learning model option will look like, safety specifics, and how activities such as lunch, recess, and specialists will be handled. Parents are required to fill out a survey for each school-age child in their family by Sunday, Aug. 16. The survey lets schools know which students plan to return to school in-person, which have chosen distance learning through the first trimester, and which opted for another option such as homeschooling or private school.
Information on STMA’s plans for can be found here:
The state’s information on county-level case counts can be found here: