January 27, 2021
BPS Families and Staff
The community is experiencing another significant surge of COVID cases which is carrying over into our schools. As of noon today, nearly 10% of Bixby students are currently under isolation or quarantine, with many more being sent home with COVID-related symptoms. Over 350 students and staff have been added to these lists since Saturday. These are troubling trends, particularly since we are starting to experience increasing numbers of cases with younger students and more evidence of possible transmission in our classrooms.
A few BPS sites have been impacted more than others. As we did last semester, the district will continue to make instructional decisions on a site-by-site basis. These decisions are based both on current case numbers as well as our ability to cover staff absences with qualified substitutes and meet the learning needs of students, especially when a significant percentage of students in a grade level are affected.
Given our present conditions, the district will be moving the following sites and/or grade levels to distance learning for Thursday and Friday of this week:
North Elementary, all grades
East Intermediate, grade 6
A decision on reopening next week will be made based on an evaluation of data on Friday afternoon.
All other Bixby schools and grade levels remain open for in-person instruction. While our goal remains to keep students in school, the current trajectory of case numbers is not sustainable. We are closely monitoring these numbers and trends. Additional school sites may also have to transition to distance learning if these negative trends continue. Families should plan accordingly for potential disruptions to school over the next few weeks.
We regret the challenges these decisions pose for our families and hope for a quick return to more manageable COVID conditions.
Respectfully,
Rob Miller
Superintendent