All Oklahoma City Public Schools to close this week over COVID-19

Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoman
·2 min read

Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state's second-largest traditional district, will close all its schools for the rest of the week because too many employees are out with COVID-19.

Superintendent Sean McDaniel announced the closures Wednesday afternoon.

Students finished school in person on Wednesday and will complete online assignments from home Thursday and Friday.

McDaniel said the district has been reassigning staff and hiring substitutes to cover as many classes as possible, but Oklahoma City schools can no longer maintain a safe and meaningful learning environment.

"This is a manpower issue, and we are simply out of options," McDaniel said.

School closings in OKC: Oklahoma schools struggling to stay open amid omicron COVID wave

Sean McDaniel during the Oklahoma City Public School Board meeting Monday, April 12, 2021.
Sean McDaniel during the Oklahoma City Public School Board meeting Monday, April 12, 2021.

In-person classes are expected to resume Tuesday, but the district advised employees and families to prepare for the possibility that virtual learning could continue into next week. Monday is a pre-planned day of no school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Students must log into the Canvas online system and complete assignments to be counted present each day of virtual learning.

Athletics and activities will continue. Staff who are not in quarantine or isolation have been instructed to report to their school campus each day during regular school hours.

Curbside service of free breakfasts and lunches will be available every day of remote learning at all district school sites from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

"Please rest assured we have done and will continue to do everything in our power to bring our students back together as soon as possible," McDaniel said. "A shift to remote learning — even for a short amount of time — is always our last resort."

More: Absences force OKC schools Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, F.D. Moon Middle into virtual learning

Students arrive with their parents to Rockwood Elementary for Oklahoma City Public Schools' first day of class on Aug. 9.
Students arrive with their parents to Rockwood Elementary for Oklahoma City Public Schools' first day of class on Aug. 9.

The announcement demonstrates the district's COVID-19 cases heightened significantly.

Only two days ago, McDaniel said a districtwide closure was not under serious consideration.

But, he said, staffing levels worsened by the hour.

"I anticipate that at some point in time if our circumstances don't change pretty quickly that, yes, we will likely have to go remote with one or more schools," McDaniel said in a virtual news conference Monday. "The numbers just do not look favorable."

At least 150 districts have announced school closures in the past week, according to tracking by StateImpact Oklahoma.

Midwest City-Del City Public Schools, Putnam City Public Schools and Yukon Public Schools also announced they will close districtwide because of overwhelming staff absences.

These closures occur as the omicron variant of COVID-19 fuels a record-setting surge of cases in Oklahoma.

The state recorded its highest single-day number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday with 9,608 infections reported.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect Oklahoma City Public School’s size in relation to other school districts. It is Oklahoma’s second-largest district.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City Public Schools to close districtwide over COVID-19