The Knox Community School Corporation is adjusting to changing COVID-19 quarantine guidelines.
Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart told the school board Tuesday that school employees are considered critical infrastructure workers by the Indiana Department of Health, and they no longer have to quarantine if they come into contact with someone who’s tested positive. “That is a huge change,” Reichhart said. “And that also helps with staffing because earlier on, we had some of our employees who had to quarantine, not because they were positive, but because they were in close contact, and that could wipe us out and make it impossible to have school or have transportation available to us.”
Now, the school corporation is exploring the possibility of not requiring students to quarantine if they’re considered a close contact. Reichhart said the Starke County Health Department has been open to the idea. “It’s important for them to be at school,” Reichhart added. “It’s important for them to be here, rather than virtual. The best part of learning is being in-person, and I think we’re losing a lot by the virtual. It’s working for as good as it can be, but it’s certainly not as good as having kids on campus.”
It’s especially a challenge when it comes to state testing. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker noted that ISTEP retests and the ILEARN biology test are currently underway for high school students who have to take them. The problem is that students are required to take them in person, but several of them are in quarantine. In another case, Shidaker said she had to help find childcare for a student’s 18-month-old child. She said the state isn’t willing to extend the testing windows, but in same cases, students are being allowed to take their tests in the spring.
Reichhart said there have been no documented cases of COVID-19 being spread at the schools, with one exception. “We had one case where it was girlfriend-boyfriend. I’ll let you figure out how that might have spread between the two of them,” Reichhart told the school board. “But other than that, we have been 100-percent clean.”
Administrators reported that the number of students choosing the virtual option is heading back up at the elementary and high schools. High School Principal Glenn Barnes noted that some sports teams have had entire groups switch to virtual.
