Van Buren Schools Going Virtual Over Teacher Shortage

All Van Buren County schools will go to virtual learning starting on Monday and lasting until December 4.

School Director Cheryl Cole said this decision was made based on the number of teachers who were quarantined and a lack of substitutes to fill the positions. Cole said there is not a set number for staff she needs available, but will assess whether returning is even possible.

“No, but if our numbers stay about the same we would have to look at maybe extending it,” Cole said. “I think things will improve once we get these two weeks in.”

However, Cole said she is worried about what might happen over Thanksgiving break and whether COVID is taken seriously. She said the school loses control over what happens when people are not in the building.

“I’m really worried about Thanksgiving break, of course you know we’ve got basketball season coming up and we’re not playing games doing virtual, as of right now,” Cole said. “I do worry about the gatherings that can take place when we’re not in school.”

Cole said she does feel like the Van Buren School System is in a better place than it was during the Spring. However, she said there are still issues.

“We’ve gotten several grants that have helped us, even though a lot of the Chromebooks that we have ordered have not come in yet,” Cole said. “We did have several that come in about three weeks ago and so I do feel like we’re better prepared… maybe not 100 percent but we’re still better than we were in the Spring.”

Cole said this was not an easy decision to make, but it is in the best interest of students and staff.

“Our main part here at school is just be patient with us,” Cole said. “We’ll be patient with you, if you have a problem, call and we’ll do everything we can to help you out.”

Cole said there will not be any sports or extra-curricular activities during the in-person learning shutdown. In-person learning is currently set to restart on December 7.