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South Bend School Officials Consider Starting School Year Virtually For All Students

Screenshot of Zoom meeting

Officials from the South Bend Community School Corporation are reconsidering their reopening plan after hundreds of teachers and parents expressed their concerns over the past week. School Officials discussed alternatives to their original plan during a meeting Monday night.

Original reopening plans released by South Bend School officials last week gave students three options when returning to class in the fall. One option allowed students to come back in-person at full capacity. The other two were virtual options.

But after hearing from concerned parents and faculty, officials discussed the possibility of starting the school year virtually for all students. Then gradually transitioning to face-to-face learning.

Brandon White, the district’s chief academic officer said this change comes as COVID-19 cases continue to increase in St. Joe County.
“Over time, we’ve realized that we’ve had a rising rate of infection in St. Joseph County, which we believe limits our ability to safely reopen schools, face-to-face beginning Aug. 12,”

The South Bend School Board does not plan to officially approve any reopening plans until a meeting on August 3rd. Classes are scheduled to start on August 12th.

Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16

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