Hibbing Public Schools will begin a "two-week COVID-19 reset" on Monday, Nov. 16, according to a letter sent to students and parents from school leaders Thursday. During the reset, all in-person classes, extracurricular activities, tier 1 childcare and district-provided meals are canceled.
Monday, Nov. 16 will be a teacher planning day. No classes will be held Monday. Teachers will begin distance learning on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Building principals will send out additional building specific information.
This decision was made because of an increase in COVID-19 cases in St. Louis County and the city of Hibbing. Northern St. Louis County has a 14-day case rate of 60.1 per 10,000 residents, according to News Tribune calculations. The city of Hibbing has had 116 new COVID-19 cases in the past week.
" A reset is intended to provide the district time to deep clean our facilities, practice mitigation, and hopefully return healthy and ready to learn," read the letter. "It is also encouraged that students and staff quarantine during this period, cease gatherings outside of their homes, and practice mitigation strategies that promote our safe return."
The district plans to return to its previous learning model on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Until now the district had elementary students attending school in-person and secondary students followed the hybrid learning model. The return may be reevaluated based on local conditions.
