Morris goes hybrid, Hancock stays in person learning

Morris Area Schools welcomed 1,081 students on the first day Tuesday, Sept. 8. The school was notified by the Minnesota Department of Health of a lab confirmed case of COVID-19 in a member of the school district Thursday, Sept. 10.

Supt. Troy Ferguson released the following statement on Friday, Sept. 11. “The recent surge in active COVID-19 cases in our community triggered a meeting of the Morris Area School’s Incident Response Team as well as our Regional Support Team. After careful consideration and much discussion, I am announcing that Morris Area Schools will move to our Hybrid Model for both Morris Area Elementary and Morris Area High School beginning next Wednesday, Sept.16…”

Morris Area High School will not have school Monday or Tuesday, Sept. 14 and 15 to prepare for the switch Wednesday.

Hancock will remain in-person learning as long as possible, superintendent Paul Carlson said.

Carlson explained that the County data, which is up over 20 points since the data was updated 14 days ago, is a starting point intended to guide and steer the discussions. Determinations of the learning model in the district are also based on local, regional and statewide data which will be sorted by age, demographics, population, zip codes, etc. The committee also considers local differences such as social distancing and masking habits, student and staff attendance and illness numbers, building and space capacities, facilities, and other local disparities.

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