Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) announced just last week that they would soon be moving into the next stage of all in-person instruction, or what they were calling the “Hybrid-Plus Model.”
But with the ever changing landscape of COVID-19, school officials have already pushed back that anticipated transition.
There was a lot of “back and forth” on the matter during a special school board meeting Thursday night with teachers pleading with the school board to hit “pause” before sending more kids back into the classroom.
Ultimately, the school board listened, and chose to rework their plan once again.
MCPS, excluding Seeley, will remain in the Phase 1, hybrid model until Nov. 6. On Nov. 9 MCPS will move into the Hybrid Plus Phase.
However, stable or declining COVID cases in Missoula will be required before the district moves into said phase.
COVID incident commander Cindy Farr joined in on the discussion, backing up the board’s decision to take things slow and keep an eye on the county’s COVID numbers.
"I do support the, you know...it's really important for the kids to be in in-person learning but then maybe we should take a little pause and take a look at what our cases are going to do over the next week or two before the having all of the kids in class, all of the time."
The board will reassess this decision as the COVID-19 situation in Missoula unfolds.
