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Oak Ridge system going back to alternating schedule for middle school students

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Dr. Bruce Borchers in a letter said the shift back to the A-B attendance plan would take effect Nov. 16.

UPDATE NOV. 13: Two weeks after going to an all in-person class schedule, Oak Ridge middle schoolers will return to alternating days of in-person and virtual lessons, administrators have announced.

The change takes effect Monday, Nov. 16.

"Although we are experiencing an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the driving force of this decision is not due to having to send home those students who are ill, but that with increased class sizes, we will potentially increase the number of students on quarantine due to social distancing guidelines," Superintendent Bruce Borchers wrote in a Thursday letter to middle school parents.

The "A-B" schedule was in effect this fall until Nov. 2, when the system switched to all in-person.

The superintendent wrote that it's expected the system will stick with the A-B schedule until mid January and then reassess.

"Our hope is that transitioning back to an alternating A/B schedule now will reduce the possibility that we need to transition to a full virtual program later," he wrote.

Administrators had been watching to see how the middle school in-person plan went before deciding whether to go to a standard five-day schedule for the high school. 

PREVIOUS STORY: Oak Ridge middle school students who have been on an alternating in-person and virtual attendance schedule are about to go to an all-in-person schedule.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Dr. Bruce Borchers, in a Monday letter to parents and staff, said the shift to a five-day-a-week, in-person schedule takes effect Monday, Nov. 2.

"We realize that this decision will increase class size and reduce the ability to social distance at our current level," his letter states. "This concern will be monitored moving forward."

There've been 17 cases of Oak Ridge Schools students with COVID-19 and 5 cases of staff with it, according to a chart sent with Borchers' note. That's a "low" number, a good sign, the superintendent wrote.

"A target date for (Oak Ridge High School) students to return to a standard five day per week schedule will be determined once we have allowed enough time to evaluate the results of the schedule change at the middle schools," Borchers' letter states.

The superintendent said the district could go back to staggered schedules if necessary in the middle schools.

Elementary schools and pre-k have been on five-day-per-week schedules that have operated with success, Borchers wrote, giving administrators reason to be comfortable with a shift for middle school students who have alternated days.

Students who are taking full-time remote learning classes will remain in that mode, the superintendent wrote.

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