MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — More than 1,300 Middletown High School students learned today their in-person classes are over for the rest of 2020 due to the area’s spike in coronavirus cases, according to the Journal-News.
City school officials sent a message to parents this afternoon announcing the immediate shutdown of in-person classes at the end of today’s school schedule.
The high school’s 1,370 students will now have to learn remotely from home through the rest of the fall semester, which will end Dec. 18 as the 6,300-student district then goes into winter break through early January, said officials.
The lack of teachers at the high school, many of which are held out from work due to coronavirus quarantine requirements, played a role in switching to all-remote learning, said officials.
“We had 15 out last week, plus four more this week, so staffing is definitely one of the reasons,” said Middletown Schools’ Spokeswoman Elizabeth Beadle.
“We’ve been using all our district subs plus administrators to cover (teach) classes these last couple of weeks,” said Beadle.
The high school had been in a hybrid class schedule.
Live, hybrid classes are tentatively scheduled to return at the beginning of the second semester on Jan. 5, said school officials.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO 9 News.
