Franklin Community Schools will push its next phase of reopening back two weeks due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in recent weeks in Johnson County and throughout Indiana, and a significant number of school district families who will be traveling for fall break, which starts today.
Students at Franklin Community Middle School and Franklin Community High School were originally scheduled to return to in-person learning four days a week starting Oct. 19, the first day after fall break. That date has been moved back to Nov. 2, Superintendent David Clendening said in a letter to parents Thursday.
The move does not affect students at the elementary level and Custer Baker Intermediate School, who have been learning in person five days a week since the start of the school year Aug. 17.
The move also does not affect students who have opted for virtual learning. They will continue to learn from home through the end of the fall semester, and will likely have to option to learn remotely in the spring as well.
Students at the middle and high school are on a hybrid schedule, learning in person two days a week and staying home the other three days on a staggered basis, so only half the in-person students are at the school buildings on any given day. On Wednesdays, all students learn from home to allow custodial staff to clean the schools thoroughly.
Under stage four of reopening, students will go to school four days a week, Clendening said in the letter.
School administrators made the decision to pause reopening past the current phase after looking at data from a trio of coronavirus databases, including from Harvard University, the Regenstrief Institute of Eskenazi Health and the Indiana State Department of Health. COVID-19 health indicators, including the seven-day rolling average of cases, positivity rate and hospitalization rate, are all trending upwards, according to data from the state health department.
The health department on Friday reported 1,835 new positive cases, the most ever in a single day. The seven-day rolling average was 1,270 COVID-19 cases a day, the most it’s ever been and an increase of about 54% from what it was Sept. 24. The state’s seven-day average of positive test percentage has increased to 5.1% from 3.9% during the past two weeks. Friday also saw the greatest number of Hoosiers in the hospital since May 21, according to the health department.
The positivity rate in Johnson County has more than doubled during the eight days leading to Friday, and the seven-day county average of 25 positive tests a day is the most it’s been since May 19. The increases come after Gov. Eric Holcomb moved the state to its final stage of reopening Sept. 26, which eliminated capacity restrictions on indoor settings as long as social distancing guidelines are followed. The mask mandate remained in effect.
“The short delay is not the end of the story for our journey to return students to school for four days of in-person instruction,” Clendening said in the letter to parents. “While I understand this data has the potential to change, yet again, I am committed to getting our students back into the classroom with their teachers. To accomplish this commitment, I believe a new set of benchmarks are needed.”
Franklin schools will release those new benchmarks Oct. 19, he said.
Students at the other five Johnson County school districts are attending school regularly, five days a week.
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Here is a look at the number of cases at each Johnson County school district:
Franklin schools: 10
Clark-Pleasant schools: 15
Center Grove schools: 29
Greenwood schools: 18
Indian Creek schools: 2
Edinburgh schools: 2
Total: 76
Source: Johnson County Schools
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Here is a look at the number of COVID-19 cases at each Franklin school:
Franklin Community High School: 6
Franklin Community Middle School: 2
Northwood Elementary School: 1
Needham Elementary School: 1
All other schools: 0
Source: Franklin Community School Corporation
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