How to know which Arizona schools are open, closed during virus pandemic
Dec 2, 2020, 4:55 AM
PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Education unveiled a statewide tracker on Tuesday that displays what mode of learning schools across the state are in as coronavirus cases continue to rise and many districts pivot to distance learning.
The dashboard indicates whether schools and districts are doing in-person, hybrid or distance learning models. It also gives users the ability to sort by county and status of schools.
The data is self-reported to the department of education by the state’s county superintendents and individual charter operators. The website notes the data updates may be incomplete.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and other education leaders in the state have called on the public to take coronavirus precautions seriously to an effort to keep schools open.
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Hoffman and others have also called on Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to implement a statewide mask mandate and provide additional assistance.
“I am disappointed that our state and country failed to take a proactive approach to curb the winter surge of COVID-19,” Hoffman said in a tweet. “In that wake, educators, students & families shoulder the disproportionate burden to overcome teaching and learning challenges during COVID-19.”
Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM last week that he wants schools to remain open for in-person learning, citing the opinion of CDC Director Robert Redfield who has supported continuing in-person learning.
On Monday, Arizona health officials reported 10,322 new coronavirus cases and 48 deaths, bringing the documented totals to 337,139 COVID-19 infections and 6,687 fatalities.
However, the abnormally large daily case number was attributed to delays in the process of reviewing and reporting results by local health officials over Thanksgiving weekend.
