RAPID CITY, S.D. – With the continued increase of COVID-19 cases, Rapid City school officials have announced all schools within the district will go to e-learning only effective Wednesday.
School officials in an email say there are more than 10 percent of staff not able to work because they have either tested positive with COVID-19 or are in quarantine.
Additionally, school officials say nearly all of the buildings do not have full coverage in nursing offices. They say that is extremely concerning as “we rely on our nurses and health assistants to not only tend to students with medical needs but also help with contact tracing and other tasks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
In an email to parents, RCAS Superintendent Dr. Lori Simon says “our student case numbers and quarantines continue to climb. For these reasons, the team has decided that moving the entire District to Level 3 beginning Wednesday, November 18th is necessary at this time. Beginning Wednesday, all students, including special education students, will learn remotely. Staff who are able will also work from home. Regardless of our learning model, we will continue to do our very best to meet the unique needs of each learner during this pandemic. This is not what we hoped for, but we are committed to making the best of our current reality.
We will provide take-home meals. We will send a follow-up communication with more information tomorrow.
Our COVID-19 team will be meeting regularly throughout Thanksgiving break. We will update families after Thanksgiving about whether the District will return to Level 1 following the break.”
