MADISON COUNTY SCHOOLS
REMAINING CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
All but one Madison County public school has voted to continue distance learning for the remainder of the school year. Harrison Schools’ scheduled meeting was after publishing deadline, but according to the superintendent, Fred Hofman, it is likely that the Harrison Schools will follow suit.
Many teachers, parents and students have gotten used to the expectations of remote education. What was once ridiculous has become somewhat familiar. Schools will have the summer to prepare for the changes that COVID-19 has caused for education.
“Because of the requirements, the PPE and social distancing requirements it was going to take to reopen, it was pretty overwhelming,” Sheridan School District Clerk Becky Larsen said.
The governor’s office guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Montana’s K-12 public schools did not work for Madison County public schools’ current timeframe. Most schools will be out for summer break in about a month. The guidelines for schools included maintaining social distancing and constant disinfecting measures.
“We felt that it was too hard to make kids be social distancing in school,” Alder elementary teacher Teresa Murdoch said.
Madison County high schools are in the process of determining how graduation ceremonies will be conducted.