Principal Justin Kratz said this week that McCann will continue as is and allow students back in the building to participate in shops.

 

"Things are going well. As well as can be expected in these crazy times," Kratz said. "We of course would rather have all of our students back with us all of the time, but until it is safe to do that, things are going as well as they can." 

 

With rising COVID-19 cases, other area districts have decided to go fully remote as least temporarily.

 

Earlier this year, McCann opted to adopt a hybrid model with students only returning to the building to participate in shops. Normal education would take place remotely to limit the number of people in the building. 

 

"The students appreciate the hands-on time we are able to give them in the shop, and I think everyone was a little curious about how the kids would respond to all of the protocols," he said. "... But they have been phenomenal. They really have been doing a great job following everything we need to follow to stay open." 

 

Kratz said the school did have a few cases but they numbers did not meet the school or city threshold for a complete shutdown. 

 

"We have had a few cases here and there, but we have been extremely low," he said. "We had a couple of shops go fully remote for a couple of stints here and there over the fall."

 

He said the school in some instances did not have to make a shop go remote but it was just done out of an abundance of caution.

 

Kratz said McCann experienced about five COVID-19 cases. In these instances, the affected shop was shut down and reverted to remote.

 

"We have all the kids really separated by cohorts and by shop ... there are about eight kids per cohort and they come in on alternate days," Kratz said.

 

He said although he does not see a need to go fully remote at this time, the district will keep an eye on community COVID-19 numbers and continue to monitor potential cases within the school.

 

"We are ready to make the change at any time," he said. "All of our teachers are outfitted and ready to roll from home if we need to make the switch."