BOX ELDER, S.D. — Douglas schools in Box Elder had to push back its start date of their school year by five days as several staff members were under quarantine. Since then, the district has not had a coronavirus outbreak and school has been able to remain in the classroom.
Douglas School District has remained at threshold since the start of their school year on September 8th, after pushing back the start due to COVID. Students in the district are on-track to graduate on time, and the staff even have a plan in place for remote learning if an outbreak were to happen.
Alan Kerr, Superintendent of Douglas School District, said, “I think we still have 11 extra days built into our calendar. So as long as we don’t have to close down we won’t need authorization from that Senate bill, but if we do, it will be nice to count those hours. We’ve had plenty of time to stand up our Google classroom and our distance learning.”
Students continue to wear masks and social distance themselves from others, which has helped stop the spread of the virus. One major factor for stopping the spread of COVID-19 throughout the district is the policies put in place at Ellsworth Air Force Base, since most of the students in the Douglas School District have parents in the military.
“I think that makes a huge difference, because they will lose a stripe if they leave the base without their mask on or out in public. They take it very seriously and so you don’t see ’em without a mask on in public which helps us out tremendously,” Kerr added.
Douglas School District continues to hold sporting events – with limited capacity – and are planning on holding graduation later this year.
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