Photo by Jon Anderson
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Students enter Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, on Feb. 26, 2018.
Students at Hoover and Spain Park high schools who chose in-person instruction this school year will be allowed to return to school five days a week on Feb. 11, Hoover school officials said today.
High school students in the Hoover school system have been on a staggered instruction schedule (with students coming to school in person just two days per week) since Nov. 30 due to increased spread of the COVID-19 disease and staffing shortages.
Hoover elementary and middle school students were allowed to come back to school five days a week on Feb. 1, but school system leaders held off on letting high school students come back five days a week at the same time, saying that limiting the number of close contacts high school students have with one another is more difficult with high school students changing classes more frequently.
However, Hoover City Schools spokesman Alex Derencz today said in a video that district officials believe allowing high school students to return Feb. 11 is appropriate because of the success with the elementary and middle school reopenings and decrease in COVID-19 positive cases across the district.
Interim Superintendent Tera Simmons said in the video that she appreciates people’s continued flexibility and patience as school officials strive to do what’s best for students and faculty.
“Educating students in a safe learning environment is our No. 1 goal,” Simmons said. “Although these plans are subject to change, we are delighted to have high school students back for five days of in-person instruction.”
Derencz said school officials would continue to monitor COVID-19 data to see if particular classes, grades or campuses need to be shut down. Safety procedures will continue to be in place, and parents should keep students home if they have any symptoms of illness and contact health care providers as necessary, he said.
Close contact tracing and protocols will continue to be followed, school officials said. Anyone identified as having been with 6 feet of someone else who tests positive for COVID-19 will be sent home for quarantine for 10 to 14 days, in accordance with Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines.
For more information, go to the Hoover City Schools website.
