PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Rather than waiting to see if there's a spike in cases and then reacting, some school districts are anticipating a holiday surge and moving to virtual learning for at least a week.
The Lackawanna Trail School District had its highest number of cases in more than a year, right before Christmas break.
More than 100 students were in quarantine.
Superintendent Matthew Rakauskas says that was part of the reason the district delayed a return to in-person learning.
"It is a bit disappointing to still be in this position, but we're well-planned," said Rakauskas.
Mom Lorie Tweed was grateful for the heads-up ahead of the holidays.
She said, "I was able to prepare my daughter, that that would be what was happening. She does love to be in person but also understands why she's going to be home virtual. But she had the time to prepare. Thankfully it doesn't affect me as far as child care goes, so I'm okay, but I know other parents do need that extra notice."
In Luzerne County, the Wyoming Area School District is also acting in advance, announcing the move to virtual classes before the break. Classes will stay online there until at least January 17.
Hanover Area School District made the change on Sunday, citing an "overwhelming amount of positive cases within our school community."
The hope among school district officials is that this is a temporary shift.
Most school districts in our area return to in-person classes on Monday, January 3.
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Get county-specific coronavirus information by visiting Pennsylvania's Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
View the CDC COVID data tracker here.