Detroit schools partially shifting to virtual classes amid mental health, COVID-19 concerns

Detroit public schools will conduct classes remotely for three Fridays in December in an effort to ease mental health concerns and COVID-19 cases and to improve school cleanliness. 

In an announcement on Tuesday, the Detroit Public Schools Community District noted that all school-based staff would work from home on those days, except those whose work cannot be completed remotely.

The district will also provide grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals at dismissal the day before each remote-learning day, according to the announcement. 

The statement also noted that students may use their personal devices or borrow a laptop from the school to attend their classes remotely. 

“Returning to in person learning has not been easy but it has been in the best interest of students,” Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in the statement, noting that the district would give more consideration to vaccine requirements for students and employees given the recent vaccine approval for children ages 5 to 11.

“Inevitably, this is the best way to ensure everyone’s safety and the need to create reliable learning schedules and patterns for students despite the ongoing and forever presence of COVID,” Vitti added.

The decision comes as Michigan, a state where 54 percent of people are vaccinated, battles the highest daily COVID-19 case average in the country, according to The New York Times.