SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Sylacauga City Schools has announced Sylacauga High School will shift to remote learning this month due to the high number of COVID exposures since the Thanksgiving break.
Students should plan to return to the classroom on Tuesday, January 5, while district and school leaders monitor and evaluate the overall health conditions in the community. Extracurricular activities at Sylacauga High School will resume Tuesday, December 15.
In the last 14 days over 33,000 Alabamians have tested positive for the virus. More than one-fourth of those tested have received a positive result in that time frame. Overall, the state has over 250,000 total cases since the pandemic began.
This transition will only affect SHS. Students at all other schools will continue to receive in-person instruction from their classroom teachers. The decision supports the statement issued yesterday by Governor Kay Ivey urging school systems to maintain in-person learning.
The school said SHS teachers and support staff members will continue working on campus to ensure student needs are met each day.
Dr. Jon Segars, Superintendent, said, “There is no equal substitute for in-person learning, but our high school staff and students are well versed in distance education. Our decisions are made with everyone’s health in mind, and we will continue to mitigate risks before bringing students back to the physical classroom at Sylacauga High School. While we have not experienced the same issues in our other schools, I do want to emphasize the importance of following the guidelines for wearing masks and maintaining appropriate distances both inside and outside of school facilities at all times.”