CARMEL, Ind. — Carmel Clay Schools is preparing to return to in-person learning soon.
In an email to staff, Superintendent Dr. Michael Beresford said the district would move forward with plans to return to full-time, in-person instruction for students in sixth through 12th grades. Beresford said he presented a COVID-19 update to the school board Monday, but no official date to return to schools has been set yet.
The plan comes after a decline in positive COVID-19 cases across the entire county but more specifically, in schools.
Beresford outlined three encouraging signs that indicate a safe return to in-person learning is possible:
- Five weeks of single-digit positive cases — among students, staff and teachers — among each school level
- Hamilton County's expected return to the blue level on the state's county metrics map updated every Wednesday
- Quarantine contact tracing guidelines lowered to 3 feet in classrooms
In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, the district said parents would be notified when a plan is finalized.
Beresford said the district's plan will sent to the Hamilton County Health Department for approval once details are confirmed.
"We know that COVID-19 is still present in our community and we will continue to follow the recommendations from the medical community to keep these numbers low," Beresford wrote in the note to employees. "I encourage everyone to stay the course and mask-up, social distance, wash hands, and go through the CCS COVID-19 Screener every day before coming to school."