Citing high absences, Springfield district cancels school for the week; others follow suit

Springfield Public Schools announced Tuesday that the district will shut down for the rest of the week.

They were not alone.

A smattering of other public and private schools in the Springfield also made decisions Tuesday based on rising COVID-19 case numbers causing a spike in staff and student absences.

In Springfield, all buildings and offices will be closed. In-person and virtual learning will be canceled through at least Friday.

"We will make a determination, based on what we're seeing, if we need to either extend the closure beyond Monday or transition to virtual learning from there," said Stephen Hall, chief communications officer.

Hall said the move was prompted by a shortage of staff and available substitutes as well as high student absenteeism.

"It is primarily staffing shortages and recruitment of available substitutes," he said. "We continue to see significant absences related to illness across the system."

Springfield, and the rest of Missouri, have experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases that is fueled by the omicron variant. Area districts are also seeing flu, strep throat and other ailments.

More: How soon will Springfield Public Schools reinstate suspended bus routes?

The decision to close was made Tuesday, the first day back in class after the three-day holiday weekend.

On Friday, the district confirmed 20 percent of its employees, or at least 700, and 19.4 percent of students, more than 4,800, were out.

Asked for absentee numbers Tuesday, Hall said "it's not any better today, if not a little bit worse."

Each week, Springfield tracks and publicly reports the number of new COVID-19 cases in the district.

For last week, Jan. 9-15, the district logged 863 new cases — 202 employees and 661 students. The number was significantly higher than any other week since the start of the pandemic.

More: Willard Public Schools move to virtual learning Wednesday due to staff shortages

The district reinstated mandatory masking for employees and visitors this week.

Masking was strongly recommended, but remained optional, for students. Mandatory masking for students was dropped after Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a cease-and-desist order in late 2021.

Hall said the closure this week "will be treated just like a snow day so all in-person and live virtual learning will be canceled through Friday, at least. We'll provide an update, based on what we are seeing, as the week progresses."

The Springfield district also announced the following:

• Employees were asked to refrain from working in school buildings, unless directed, to allow for staff to recuperate from illness and help prevent further spread;

• Schools will undergo a thorough cleaning this week, while closed;

• The district's centralized testing location will remain open but testing will remain limited to SPS staff, until further notice;

• Grab-and-go meals will be available through the temporary closure and sign-up is required. Five days of meals will be available for pick up from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday.

Nixa School District monitoring staffing, COVID cases

In Nixa, school officials are closely monitoring staffing and COVID-19 cases.

"Our goal is to have school all week, as long as we can have enough staff to hold classes," said Zac Rantz, chief communication officer.

Ozark School District school closures

New Covenant Academy and the Ozark district were among the schools that closed for the rest of this week.

"For NCA, our plan is to use the next three days for those individuals to get better — we are not doing virtual these days — and then hopefully return in person on Monday," said Matt Searson, chief academic officer at New Covenant. "Like everyone else we were being stretched thin with absences and our ability to adequately staff the daily operations of the school."

Republic School District closures

The Republic district plans to cancel classes Wednesday to give teachers enough time to prepare for the switch from in person to virtual learning Thursday and Friday.

Willard School District goes to virtual learning

The Willard district will flip from in-person to virtual learning through Friday. A top official said the current fill rate for absent employees is hovering at 60 percent, which is too low to operate normally.

Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield school closings, cancellations due to COVID Tuesday