Phoenix Union High Schools To Stay Virtual Until January

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Union High School District will delay in-person learning until at least January due to a high number of coronavirus cases in the community, the district superintendent announced Monday.

In a YouTube video, district superintendent Dr. Chad Gestson said that the school district remains committed to keeping its students and their families safe and healthy throughout the pandemic, which is why it has chosen to remain virtual through the end of the year. The hard-hit district remains in the 'substantial' phase of community transmission and the state has said the 'minimal' stage must be reached for schools to safely reopen.

"It will not be possible for our community to move from substantial to moderate and again from moderate to minimal in just the next few weeks," Gestson said in the video, also acknowledging that there has been some improvement in the community's zip codes in recent weeks.

Arizona reported 213 new coronavirus cases and no known deaths Monday, and the number of hospitalizations with COVID-like symptoms have been trending down for weeks.

The district will be implementing improvements to its existing distance learning structures, he said. Those improvements include: changes to bell schedules, more professional development for educators, additional support for freshmen and students falling behind academically and more counseling to care for students' emotional and social needs. The district will also be opening up more space on campuses for its 28,000 students who need a safe place to go during the day. Limited on-site services are already in place.

Gestson also announced some happier news in the video. He said the district is "doing our best" to bring fall sports back by early October and is hopeful it will have a full sports season by the end of that month.

Gestson said he and his team are moving forward to come up with plans for reopening in January.

"We will do all we can to bring back our schools as soon as possible," he said.