Tucson Schools Return To Virtual Learning Amid Coronavirus Uptick

TUCSON, AZ — Several Tucson-area schools will return to virtual learning amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Pima County and across Arizona.

Flowing Wells High School in Tucson announced it will revert back to virtual learning until after Thanksgiving break because 10 staff members are in quarantine and a few have tested positive for the coronavirus. The school will be closed from Thursday, Nov. 12, to Monday, Nov. 30.

The school said the employees are not teachers but their absence won’t allow the school to do all the cleaning, security and supervision necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus for in-person students.

Flowing Wells’ current hybrid plan has students on campus in four separate groups one day per week. According to a report from the Arizona Daily Star, Flowing Wells Unified School District Superintendent David Baker said students and staff are accustomed to remote learning by now.

Likewise, the Tucson Unified School District delayed its planned hybrid learning launch, which would bring more students back to campus for in-person learning. Currently, only "at risk" students are on campus in the district.

The Sunnyside School District will also make a return to virtual learning following Thanksgiving break until Jan. 4 out of caution as the holidays approach. The University of Arizona will test all in-person students for the spring semester for the same reason.

While speaking to the governing board, Superintendent Steve Holmes said there had been a few confirmed coronavirus cases at Sunnyside schools but they could be traced to off-campus activities.

"Despite the fact ... that we've had zero transmission in the schools between folks, there's still a fear that if this gets even bigger, I may not be able to say that," Holmes said.

Sunnyside's last day of hybrid learning will be Nov. 25. Whether the schools return to in-person learning on Jan. 4 will be contingent on advice from the Pima County Health Department.

"Although the Pima County Health Department is not recommending that schools close at this time, out of an abundance of caution we feel it is necessary to be proactive about minimizing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools by staying remote through the holidays," Holmes wrote in a letter to Sunnyside parents.