Lone Tree returned to 100% on-site learning on Monday, Dec. 14 following two weeks of online learning after Thanksgiving break. School nurse Martha Wieland said, as of the school board meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 9, there were no COVID-related staff absences. Three students were absent due to positive COVID tests and two students were in quarantine, but all were expected to return to school on Dec. 14.

The school board made the decision to move to an online model at a special meeting before Thanksgiving break in anticipation of a post-holiday surge of COVID cases. The district, however, didn’t see a significant rise in COVID cases following Thanksgiving break. At this time, the district plans to remain full-time in-person until further notice.

The school board will hold a special session on Thursday, Dec. 17 in order to appoint a new board member to fill the vacancy left when former board member Joe Williams moved out of district. It is possible, several board members said, that they will discuss a plan for learning models after Christmas break at that meeting.

Elementary principal Amber Jacque said the more notice her staff and students have about a move to online learning, the better. While high school and middle school students routinely bring their Chromebooks and other devices home with them, elementary students generally do not. The transitions into and out of online learning are harder at the elementary level, Jacque said.

“If we wait until [Dec. 17] to make a decision about what we will do after Christmas break, that puts a big strain on our teachers, saying Thursday night we decide and then Friday we have to get everything ready to learn at home,” Jacque said. “I don’t think we would be as prepared as if we knew sooner.”

Middle and high school principal Regan Stone agreed that a decision coming late in the week before Christmas would be difficult for his staff.

“I would like to see [the motion to return to on-site learning] to continue through break, that we are returning indefinitely,” Stone said. “You can ask us to share data with you and [Wieland] through break. If we have a large number of teachers or staff out with a positive result or with quarantine, then we can revisit it then.”

School board president Christina Magruder said she hopes to see students stay in on-site learning after Christmas break.

“Academically, because we have been online these past two weeks, I think it’s really important to get these students back in the classroom, especially the week after Christmas break because that’s when they have tests at the high school level,” Magruder said. “Being on-site will be beneficial for that.”

In other action during the Dec. 9 meeting, the board approved the district’s early retirement package, approved the annual report produced by the administration and approved an early graduation request for a senior to graduate at the end of the fall semester.

The board also heard presentations from high school computer teacher Jessica Howard and middle and high school vocational agriculture teacher Bridget Mahoney, who demonstrated the 3D printer and laser etcher they use in their classrooms.