Amid the new tougher restrictions from the Shelby County Health Department issued earlier this week, some have wondered, will Lakeland students return to school after the Thanksgiving break? According to Dr. Ted Horrell, Superintendent of Lakeland School System the answer is yes.
“My team and I have been asked about the likelihood of us ‘shutting down’ with the spike in cases we are seeing in both Shelby County and nationwide. At this time, our hope and intention remains as it did when we opened school: to continue to teach and learn safely in-person for as long as we possibly can,” Dr. Horrell said.
He credited school staff with the lack of transmission of the COVID-19 virus so far in the school year saying the efforts of faculty and staff, as well as the cooperation and communication of parents, made an impact. He also believes the lack of transmission was due to the adherence to social distancing, masking, and good cleaning in place at both Lakeland schools.
“While we must continue to be ready to ‘flip the switch’ to full-time remote learning as we have been all year, I do not believe the closure of other schools or school systems should cause additional anxiety for our parents or community members,” Dr. Horrell said.
Most importantly Dr. Horrell stressed decisions about school closures would be based on local circumstances. “We will make decisions based on our own local context which is not necessarily the same as other areas or other school systems. If we do see a rise in school-based transmission that causes us to re-examine our approach, we will communicate that at the appropriate time.”
