MEHLVILLE, Mo. — High school students in the Mehlville School District will go back to all virtual learning as COVID-19 cases remain on the rise in the area.
Several other school districts in the area have made similar changes this week.
Mehlville School District Superintendent Chris Gaines sent a letter to families on Thursday.
Starting on Monday, Nov. 16, the district's high school students will transition back to Plan C, which is the virtual model. The district plans to keep students virtual until winter break.
Middle schools, elementary schools and early childhood programs will remain in Plan B, which is blended learning.
"We are now seeing sharp increases in both our positive cases and our positivity rates, two of the key metrics we have been following," Gaines said in an email to families.
This comes as St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is expected to announce tighter COVID-19 restrictions on Friday.
"Our team of educators and support staff have been working tirelessly to ensure the safe return to school for our on-campus learners. However, as both positive cases and the numbers of exposed students and staff continue to rise, we are struggling with workforce shortages. We are concerned about our ability to sustain safe levels of staff at each of our schools. This transition allows us to deploy more resources to elementary and middle schools to support continued in-person learning," Gaines said in an email to families.
Gaines also said younger students in the district have lower positivity rates than our older students.
