More schools in Wichita closing amid COVID-19 surge
More schools in Wichita are closing because of COVID-19.
On Thursday, the Wichita Public Schools’ website listed several closures: Wichita South High School closed Friday, Beech Elementary and Levy Special Education Center closed Thursday and Friday and Bryant Opportunity Academy closed Friday through Tuesday.
South High School sporting events won’t be affected by the closure. A message to parents and guardians Thursday morning said the closure was because of “staffing challenges due to COVID.”
Three elementary schools in the district (Cessna, Spaght and Linwood) closed earlier in the week because of staffing shortages due to the outbreak.
School officials warned about possible closures last week. The district’s COVID-19 dashboard, updated last week, showed the worst number of positive cases and quarantines among students and staff. The reports date back to August. The district has yet to release this week’s report.
Three private elementary schools in Wichita — Christ the King, St. Francis of Assisi and Magdalen — also closed earlier this week. Wichita Catholic Schools superintendent Janet Eaton said earlier this week that other schools were “on the verge” of possibly closing.
No one at the Wichita Catholic Schools immediately returned a call from The Eagle for more information on school closures.
Other parts of the state have had school closures as well.
Olathe Public Schools and Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to The Kansas City Star. Several other districts have had closures as well.
The closures follow a surge of COVID-19 cases across the nation as the highly contagious omicron variant takes over as the dominant strain of the coronavirus.
School staffing shortages have become so dire that the state lowered requirements for substitute teachers. The changes made last week by the Kansas State Board of Education dropped the requirement of 60 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited college or university.
A high school diploma and passing a background check were some of the new requirements under the emergency order.
The closure at South High School will affect roughly 1,646 of the district’s nearly 47,000 students, according to state data.
“Once we return to the building, we will continue to need your support,” the voicemail sent Thursday to parents and guardians of South High School students said. “Please keep your child home if they are sick, if they’ve been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or if your child has tested positive for COVID-19. Please continue to wear a mask at all times, wash your hands, practice social distancing and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.”
Contributing: Chance Swaim with The Eagle
