2 Caddo Parish Schools Moving To ‘Online-Only’

If anyone is still in the "as soon as the election is over, COVID-19 will disappear" camp, it may be time to pack up your tent.  Not only is the crisis still looming heavy over every aspect of life, in some ways it may be getting worse.

Take, for example, sending our kids back to school.  I have a middle school kid that wasn't doing so great with "distance-learning," so (after a brief trial-period revealed that wasn't very effective) we sent him back to school with the rest of the class.  He's now doing much better, and loves schools.  Unfortunately, that's not the whole picture.  While learning in person is way more effective, it's also way more infectious.  Luckily, his school has had a lot of success managing the pandemic by using stricter distancing policies, requiring masks and stepping up disinfection efforts. Some schools, despite that constant vigilance, aren't so lucky.

According to a report from BRProud, both Eighty-First Street ECE and North Caddo Elementary/Middle School will be virtual-only until at least Friday, November 20th.  Strangely, COVID-19 isn't the only culprit in this digital education migration.  Officials say that an unacceptably high number of students and faculty have become sick with everything from the common cold to strep throat, the flu and COVID-19.

Approximately 20% of students and staff were absent, prompting officials to make the switch to online-only for the next 10 days.  They cited individuals who felt sick but didn't stay home as the reason for the rapid spread of these illnesses.