YODER – Southeast Schools’ students in grades 7-12 will learn remotely from Nov. 20-Nov. 24 and Eastern Wyoming College closed its Torrington campus Nov. 23- Nov. 27 in response to an increase in positive cases on their campuses and in the community.

The closures overlap with the schools’ respective Thanksgiving breaks, meaning students will be off campus for an entire week. 

Goshen County School District No. 1 Superintendent Ryan Kramer said the school’s temporary move to tier three in the district’s Smart Start plan, meaning students learn virtually, is in response to a number of staff members either testing positive for COVID-19 or quarantining due to exposure. 

“We had to take a really strong look at how we could provide the best education at Southeast and how we could utilize our substitutes in the best way possible,” Kramer said. 

Activities are canceled during this time as well. 

Kramer said the pandemic is affecting the district’s buildings differently. Southeast Schools have taken a hit, specifically, because of the number of staff members with children in the system.

“It’s kind of magnified, so when a child at Southeast is in quarantine, that affects our staffing patterns,” he said. “That’s one of our unique features at Southeast.”

As of press time Monday, Southeast Schools have six active cases and 12 cumulative cases of the district’s 22 active cases and 47 cumulative positive cases, according to the GCSD COVID-19 dashboard.

EWC announced their move to online classes on Oct. 27 due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and exposures. Officials originally planned to make this transition to online instruction following the Thanksgiving holiday. 

As of press time Monday, roughly 22 EWC students and employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and there are currently five students quarantined in residence halls due to exposure, according to Roger Humphrey, Vice President for Student Services. 

Eight EWC employees are quarantined due to exposure, said Holly Lara, Director of Human Resources.

Tami Afdahl, Director of College Relations, said these figures are “best estimates and approximations” based on students and employees who have disclosed information to EWC. 

“The college was only going to be open the 23rd and 24th anyway, so we feel it is in the best interest of our employees to just shut the college down for the week,” said EWC President Lesley Travers in a Nov. 19 press release. “Our employees need to rest and take care of themselves so we can come back on the 30th and finish out the year strong. This will also give us another opportunity to deep clean the facilities on top of the daily cleaning and fogging already occurring.”

After Thanksgiving, all but 16 welding students will continue the semester’s courses remotely, according to Heidi Edmunds, Vice President for Student Services. These students will return to campus Nov. 30 to finish their in-person instruction. 

Afdahl said barbering and cosmetology students extended their Tuesdays to 12 hours to fit in their required hours and complete the semester early. 

“Things change so quickly each day,” Afdahl said.

Kramer said GCSD plans to bring all SEHS and SEMS students back for face-to-face instruction after the break.

“We’re very proud of the teachers and that adjustment they had to make very quickly,” Kramer said. “Being able to look at the dates on the quarantines and being able to look when people would be available to return, we’re confident we’re going to be able to come back face-to-face on November 30.”