Sumner Schools Revert To Fully In-Person As Schools Elsewhere Close Because Of Coronavirus Uptick

Sumner County students return to classrooms in person Tuesday as the district discards its hybrid schedule.

For the first two weeks, most students had been in classrooms just two days per week.

The district says it’s following its re-entry plan, which sought a return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. But the announcement still triggered nearly 700 comments on the district Facebook page, ranging from celebratory to distraught.

Sumner County reported 268 actively contagious cases coming out of the holiday weekend. The county has reported 87 deaths during the pandemic, the third-most in the state.

Meanwhile, clusters of the coronavirus are forcing more Middle Tennessee schools to close and go all-virtual. That includes Auburn Elementary in Cannon County, which won’t reopen for two weeks after an uptick.

The district reports that a fourth students who were attending the small elementary in person either tested positive or had close contact. The superintendent says the closure was recommended by the Tennessee Department of Health.

Maury County still has one elementary school closed this week and two different high school volleyball teams in quarantine. The district is listing 17 schools with cases or classroom closures.

Elsewhere in the state, Knoxville is shifting one middle school to all-online this week, citing cases and a substitute teacher shortage. The district says it has 50 active cases, more than 600 in quarantine.

And starting Tuesday, Hamilton County is shifting three of its high schools to online learning to allow for contact tracing and cleaning. That district has more than 350 students and employees in isolation.