BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

In his March 19 communication to Clarkston Community Schools families, Superintendent Dr. Shawn Ryan said he wanted to provide the “full picture” of where the district is in terms of current COVID-19 rates and resulting quarantines in CCS heading into the last week before spring break.
“We are seeing an increasing trend of positive cases within the Clarkston area, which is reflective of our greater county and state,” said Ryan. “Though these numbers are nowhere near the numbers we saw in November when we were forced to move to temporary distance learning, they are a concern, nonetheless. However, no recommendations have been made to adjust our instructional modes at this time. Some have asked if we plan to move to temporary distance learning as a mitigation strategy before or after spring break.
“We have evaluated potential preemptive school closures with the Oakland County Health Division and have determined that any benefit of keeping students home for a week or two of distance learning would not outweigh the educational loss associated with tremendous disruption involved in moving between learning models for students from face-to-face to distance learning.”
With rising virus rates, Ryan said the district has experienced increased incidences of quarantining within the district, stating as of last Friday, CCS currently has 483 students and 29 staff members that are in quarantine.