MCSD plans for outdoor graduation, Grand March

     “We have two months of school left and we continue to be in a good place with our community and school numbers related to COVID,” reported Monticello schools Superintendent Brian Jaeger.

     The Monticello School District is planning for its spring events, both indoor and out.

     “As we move into the spring season, we are trying to open up a bit more with our extracurricular activities,” continued Jaeger.

     With spring sports taking place outdoors, that allows spectators to spread out more so than indoors.

     “We are going to ask fans to be very good about social distancing at our sports events because we are going to make masks optional for fans at golf, soccer, and track,” noted Jaeger of a policy change. “We do believe we have the space needed to make that work.”

     For indoor activities, the MCSD will still be requiring masks.

     Monticello High School’s graduation will take place on Sunday, May 30 at 2 p.m. on the football field. Jaeger said final details are still being ironed out, and will be announced as the event moves closer.

     “Things could get worse or better over the next two months so rather than announce plans and then change those plans later, we will wait and announce more specific plans for graduation at a later time,” said Jaeger.

     On the topic of outdoor events, the MHS Grand March will also take place on the football field at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. Masks will be optional. Should weather force the Grand March to move into the high school auditorium, masks will be required.

     Jaeger shared an update in cases from Jones County Public Health. Monticello saw five positive COVID-19 cases in the last seven days.

     “Those numbers are up slightly from two weeks ago,” he said.

     The MCSD currently has four students and zero staff in isolation, and one student and no staff in quarantine. Both account for less than 1 percent of the student body and less than 1 percent of the total staff out for COVID-19-related reasons.

     There are approximately 88 PreK-12 students still taking part in hybrid or full-online learning. That’s roughly 9 percent of student population.